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Scarlet Macaw  (Ara macao)

Also Known As: Red-blue-and-yellow Macaw, Red-and-yellow Macaw, Red-breasted Macaw
 
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Scarlet Macaw preening

Credit: © Julie Fine | License: ShutterStock
 
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Did You Know?
The first recorded captive breeding of a Scarlet Macaw took place in 1916 in California.

Status in the Wild
World Population:
Total Middle American population no more than 4000.

Range:
A. m. macao: Costa Rica on Pacific slope; S Panama, on Azuero Peninsula and Isla Coiba, then scattered through N South America, east of Andes, from Rio Magdalena valley, Colombia to Guianas and south to E Ecuador, E Peru, E Bolivia and N Mato Grosso, Brazil.
A.m. cyanoptera: Oaxaca and S Tamaulipas, SE Mexico; scattered to NE Nicaragua.


Habitat:
Lowland rainforest and savanna; in Mexico remote portions of humid forest; on Pacific slope in Honduras; Costa Rica deciduous and humid forest; Colombia in lowland rainforest and gallery forest; Venezuela in rainforest and savanna. Up to 500m (1640 ft), locally to 1000m (3280 ft).

Threat Summary:
Some decline throughout range due to hunting for food and plumes, capture for the pet bird trade and habitat loss.

IUCN Rating:
Least concern

Wild Diet:
Fruits; fruits and nuts of various palms, and seeds, flowers and nectar.

CITES Rating:
Appendix I

Ecology:
Found often near rivers throughout range; found from below 240m (787 ft) in Mexico to up to 1100m (3608 ft) in Honduras, 1500m (4920 ft) in Costa Rica and 400-500m (1312-1640 ft) in Colombia and Venezuela. Usually in pairs, parties of 3-4 or flocks up to 30 individuals. Roosts communally in tall trees.

Clutch and Egg Size:
2 to 4 elliptical eggs, 47.0 x 34.0mm (1.8 x 1.3 in).

Breeding Season:
February to April in Mexico and northern Central America; earlier in Costa Rica and Panama; October to March in Brazil; November-April in Peru.

Project Status (WPT):
David Woolcock, WPT trustee, has overseen the Scarlet Macaw Regional Studbook to collect and store captive population and breeding information.
See: http://www.parrots.org/index.php/ourwork/pp_scarletmacaw/


Links to Other Project(s):
http://www.thewildones.org/Belize/mac.html

http://www.macawmountain.com/scarlet_macaw.htm

http://www.araproject.nl/

More Info Sites:
http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/aramacao.html

http://www.ibiologia.unam.mx/pdf/links/neo/rev5/vol_5_2/ororni_5_2_99-104.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_Macaw