Macaw Compendium

Ara ararauna -
The Blue and Gold Macaw

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Photo courtesy I. Fiedel
Soundlink to Brazil (*.wav; 937 Kbytes)

Taxonomy:

Psittaciformes / Aratingidae / Aratinginae / Ara / A. ararauna
No subspecies.

Names :

A. ararauna               IE: Blue and gold Macaw,
                          I   Yellow-breasted Macaw
                          IG: Ararauna,
                          I   Gelbbrustara
                          ID: Blauwgele ara
                          IF: Ara bleu
                          IP: Guacamayo azul de pecho amarillo

Distribution:

Widely distributed in South America: Brazil, except the most S and E; N-Paraguay; E-Bolivia; E-Peru; E-Columbia and in the North to Panama; S-Venezuela; Trinidad; Guyana; Surinam and French Guyana

Description:

Length: 90 cm
Plumage: Upperparts blue, breast and body bright yellow. Forehead green, turning blue over the crown to the neck. White, naked face striped with black rows of feathers. White, naked cheeks. Throat black with a greenish border where it reaches the yellow breast. The yellow of the breast extends round the black throat up to the ears. Underparts of wings olive-yellow.
Bill Black
Legs dark grey
Iris ivory

Habitat:

Riverside forests to open savannah lands.

Nutrition:

Among others, palmfruits of Inaja (Maximiliana regia) and Tucuma (Astrocaryum spec.)

Breeding:

The season varies within the range, in the northern parts breedings starts around February to March, in the southern parts early in December.

IUCN Red List Status (1994):

Not listed

Add. Notes:

There is another macaw with a general blue and gold appearance, the Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis) but while this one is very rare the A.ararauna among the bigger macaws is a popular bird held in captivity. They are easily bred and famous for their gentle and playful character.
Depending on their size they should have plenty of room to move. Pair-bonding is very strong, also to a human mate or even other pet-animals and they need lots of attention.
In captivity there are crossbreedings with other Macaws (esp. Green-winged and Scarlet Macaws). The results generally are called Harlequin Macaws.

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Created for the Macaw's homepage Feb. 1996
pfeffer@club.tu-clausthal.de