Military or buffons macaw?

[Warrior]

He seems a bit large for a military, (I don’t know his weight). And his eyes aren’t like some of the militaries I’ve seen. Maybe a hybrid between the two?

 

[April]

What a beauty he is! @Macawnutz @MiniMacaw @expressmailtome

 

[Shezbug]

@aooratrix @Big Blues

 

[flyzipper]

For me, it's tough to tell based on images (especially in different lighting -- indoor images look Military, while outdoor looks Buffon's), but if you can get a weight, it would suggest Military if around 1kg, or Buffon's if closer to 1.2 or even 1.3kg (assuming a healthy weight, rather than over or under).

Oscar thinks Military.

 

[expressmailtome]

I would recommend looking at this article by Dr. Janice Boyd: COVER STORY The Great Green (Buffon's) Macaw: The Ambiguous Ara, (Ara ambiguus) | AFA Watchbird . There is a good amount of information in it including a picture showing the difference between the eyes of both pure-bred species.

 

[Macawnutz]

Looks like a military to me. I have a military and none of your pictures look any different. The dead give away when there is question is always the tail color. Your sweetie has that dark maroon red tail.

 

[aooratrix]

I'm with @flyzipper. The pictures are inconclusive at best. Photos are SO hard for identification purposes. The main differences between militaries and Buffon's are iris color, tail color, shade of green, and size. IMO, iris color is a non-starter. I've seen militaries that have the Buffon's iris color. Are they intergrades or hybrids? How many pure Buffon's are there in aviculture? I don't know. I wouldn't go by eye color at all. Tail color is more objective: if it's orange, in combination with plumage and size, you've got a Buffon's...probably. In terms of plumage, a Buffon's is chartreuse rather than the kelly green of a military. In terms of size, a Buffon's should outweigh a military significantly. Buffon's can go 1,400 grams+. This is all conjecture based solely on pictures. Weight would help but isn't definitive, especially if you've got a small Buffon's. With reservations, I agree that your bird is either a military or a hybrid.

 

[Spearmint]

First off, absolutely stunning omg.
Secondly, i found this page talking about eye differences in the macaws? I’m not sure if it’s legit but here’s a comparison between yours and the image i found:


So based solely on this (i’ve never heard of a Buffons until now so take this lightly), looks like your fella might be a Buffon.

 

[Macawnutz]

First off, absolutely stunning omg.
Secondly, i found this page talking about eye differences in the macaws? I’m not sure if it’s legit but here’s a comparison between yours and the image i found:
View attachment 442561 View attachment 442562

So based solely on this (i’ve never heard of a Buffons until now so take this lightly), looks like your fella might be a Buffon.

My military has the buffons eye color. The eye ring/color has proven to be a pretty useless method.

 

[orphansparrow]

He is absolutely stunning. I love to see that you have him outside in the sunshine. I’d love to learn more about him

 

[Road2go]

I take care of a buffons regularly. He definitely looks like the one I take care of. But you're right, he might be a hybrid.