Macaw Compendium

Ara macao -
The Scarlet Macaw


- Photo courtesy of Up At Six Aviaries
- Photo [email:] Barry Thaxton

Taxonomy:

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

Names :

A. macao                  IE: Scarlet Macaw,
                          I   Red and yellow Macaw
                          IG: Arakanga,
                          I   Hellroter Ara
                          ID: Geelvleugel Ara
                          IF: Ara rouge
                          IP: Guacamayo rojo de alas amarillas

Distribution:

Northern half of Brazil; N-Bolivia; E-Peru; extreme E-Ecuador; E- and N-Colombia; S-Venezuela; Guyana; Surinam; French Guyana.
In Middle-America from Panama to SE-parts of Mexico except Yuccatan.

Description:

Length: 85 cm
Plumage general bright red. Naked face without feathered stripes. Wing coverts yellow, turning green. Flight feathers blue. Lower part of back light blue. Tailcoverts blue. Tailfaethers red, turning blue to the end.
Bill: upper mandible ivory with a black tip
Legs grey-brown
Iris yellowish

Habitat:

Lowland tropical rainforest up to 900m

Nutrition:

Palmfruits, figs, berries and nuts. During the breeding season also insects and their larvae.

Breeding:

Season starts early December in southern parts of the range, later in the north. Clutch consist of up to four eggs.

IUCN Red List Status (1994):

not listed

Add. Notes:

Because of its general red appearance and similar size this birds often is confused with the Green-winged Macaw. Easy to discover is the difference of the face: The Scarlett Macaw has no feather stripes.
This bird has a very gentle character and becomes tame easily. They should be kept in warm, humid surroundings to keep them comfortable.

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