The Blue-and yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna) is a very large parrot that is ultramarine blue above and mostly golden yellow below with a long tail, a large black bill, and a bare white facial patch on each side of its head with narrow lines of black feathers. The very similar Blue-throated Macaw has a broadly blue throat, leaving just a stripe of yellow going up each side of the neck.They are vibrantly colored, with blue on their backs and wings, yellow under parts, green forehead feathers, and green tips on the end of their wings. Their under-wing coverts and breast are yellow-orange and they have black beaks, throat, and legs. Their eyes are yellow and their facial area consists of bare white skin with several black feather lines around their eyes.
Blue-and-yellow macaws are found mainly in rainforests in swampy and riparian areas. They nest high in trees to avoid predation.
Blue-and-yellow macaws mainly eat seeds, nuts, and fruits. They use their strong beaks to break open nut shells and to crush seeds. In some cases, they consume clay found at riverbanks which allows them to digest the toxins from unripe seeds that they may have ingested.
Ara ararauna (blue-and-yellow macaws) can be found throughout subtropical and tropical forests, woodlands, and savannas in South America from Venezuela to Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. Blue-and-yellow macaws are also found in Mexico and are restricted to Panama in Central America.
classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (September, 2010).listed on Appendix II of CITES (September, 2010)
CLASS : Aves
ORDER : Psittaciformes
FAMILY : Psittacidae
GENUS : Ara
SPECIES : Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)
Conservation status : Least Concern
Blue-and-yellow macaws reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age. Their breeding season is during the first half of the year and they breed about every 1 to 2 years. Nests are found high up in tall trees, mainly in cavities already made by other animals. Females lay 2 to 3 eggs and incubate them for 24 to 28 days, after which the young hatch blind and featherless. After 10 days the young begin to develop feathers. Within 3 months fledglings become independent.
Blue-and-yellow macaws are from 81 to 91.5 cm long, weigh from 0.9 to 1.8 kg, and have a wing span of 104 to 114 cm.
