A bird coin!

Ever heard of Niue? It is an island in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand. This island has just launched a new coin series that features the planet's 10 most endangered species. The first is our South American friend, the Hyacinth Macaw!

Source: http://news.coinupdate.com/first-coin-released-in-new-endangered-species-series-3103/

The hyacinth macaw is one of the continent's rarest parrots. Habitat loss and trapping wild birds for the pet trade have decreased it's numbers to scarily low numbers over the decades, and now it is listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. It's no wonder people want Hyacinth Macaws to call their own, sad and cruel as it is, because they are strikingly beautiful. They are a brilliant blue, and from head to the end of the tail they can measure 3.3 ft long, making them the largest macaw and largest parrot species in the world.

Taken from a super creepy website claiming to sell hyacinth macaws. Keep these beauties in the wild! Source: http://www.forsalehyacinthmacaws.com/uploads/2/1/5/1/21518698/5720512_orig.jpg.

More info on the hyacinth macaw coming soon in my organism presentation. But if you go to Niue before then, remember to keep an eye out for the macaw coin!

- Morgan

Reference: http://news.coinupdate.com/first-coin-released-in-new-endangered-species-series-3103/