Flag of Martinique Flag of Martinique Martinique, an overseas territorial collectivity of France located in the Caribbean, has no flag with official status other than the French national flag. This flag features a white cross like St George’s cross on a blue background filled in with a white snake in each quarters. It is used sometimes by the French military on their buildings and/or uniforms. Gendarmes bear the Coat of Arms version of the flag. This flag dates from an edict issued 4 August 1766, specifying that vessels of the French Colony of Martinique and Saint Lucia should fly a version of the
Martinique macaw to refer to separate birds. The Martinique amazon ("Amazona martinicana") of the same island, was also based solely on a contemporary description. What Bouton described is likely to remain a mystery, but various theories have been proposed. In 1906, Tommaso Salvadori noted that the Martinique macaw seemed similar to the blue-and-yellow macaw ("Ara ararauna") of mainland South America, and may have been the same bird. The American ornithologist James Greenway suggested Bouton's description could have been based on a captive bird. "Edwards' Dodo", a 1626 painting by the Dutch artist Roelant Savery, shows several birds including a blue and yellow