Macaw Compendium

Ara auricollis -
The Yellow-collared Macaw

[ ] - Photo H.-J. Pfeffer

Taxonomy:

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

Names :

A. auricollis                 IE: Yellow-collared Macaw,
                              I   Golden-naped Macaw,
                              I   Cassin's Macaw
                              IG: Goldnackenara,
                              I   Halsbandara
                              ID: Geelnek Ara
                              IF: Ara nuque jaune
                              IP: Guacamayo de collar amarillo

Distribution:

W- and Central Brazil; E-Bolivia; N-Paraguay; Extreme N-Argentina

Description:

Length: 38 cm
Plumage general green; forehead black turning green over the crown. Naked face white. Throat around the lower mandible black. Yellow "collar" in the neck; dominant in males, smaller in females. Wing coverts green, turning bluish at the end. Flight feathers blue. Tailfeathers light maroon, turning bluish at the end.
Bill black, upper mandible turns grey to the tip
Legs grey
Iris orange

Habitat:

Tropical rainforests to dry open savannah lands.

Nutrition:

Palmfruits and figs, also berries, buds and blossoms.

Breeding:

Season starts December/January, incubation may last 27-28 days. The young stay in the nest for 10 to 11 weeks.

IUCN Red List Status (1994):

not listed

Add. Notes:

In their native habitat these very social birds are living in flocks of about 10 to 20 birds. Various flocks gather on the same trees for the night. So congregations up to 500 birds were observed.
The Yellow-collared Macaw is one of the "Mini-Macaws". Because of his character and behavior this one should be treated like a "big" one.
In captivity they easily become very tame. In general it is not recommended to keep pairs of A.auricollis together with other birds. Also, left alone they may be very noisy.

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