The scarlet macaw is a large, brilliantly colored parrot native to humid lowland forests from Mexico through Central America to the Amazon basin of South America, easily recognized by its vivid red plumage set off by blue and yellow on the wings and a bare white face. It has a powerful hooked bill strong enough to crack open hard nuts and seeds, its primary diet along with fruit and clay from exposed riverbanks, which is thought to help neutralize toxins in some of the foods it eats. Scarlet macaws form lifelong pair bonds, nest in tree cavities, and can live for many decades, and their loud, harsh calls carry far through the forest canopy. Habitat loss and capture for the pet trade have reduced populations across much of its range, and the species has been extirpated from parts of its historic distribution, though it remains locally common in protected areas.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Relationship to People Living or ExtinctDerived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status. Scientific Name Conservation Status Population EstimateIUCN states the wild population at between 50,000 and 499,999 individuals; the lower bound is recorded here as the conservative figure. Identification
Distinguishing AppearancePlumage mostly scarlet, with light blue rump and tail-covert feathers and yellow greater upper wing coverts. 1 Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Source Scarlet Macaw (Wikipedia)
In Ecosystem
Source Scarlet Macaw (Wikidata)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Scarlet Macaw (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, first sentence
The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) also called the red-and-yellow macaw, red-and-blue macaw or red-breasted macaw, is a large yellow, green, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas.
Description section, plumage passage
The plumage is mostly scarlet, but the rump and tail-covert feathers are light blue, the greater upper wing coverts are yellow
Conservation status section
the species is classified by IUCN as least concern
Conservation status section, population estimate sentence
Its wild population is currently estimated to be between 50,000 and 499,999 individuals.
Article text
Commercial international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) is prohibited by the bird's listing under CITES Appendix 1 due to poaching for the pet trade.
- In Biome: Tropical Rainforest, Wikipedia 'Scarlet macaw': native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas
View the Source 2. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
3. GBIF Species API
Wikidata: Scarlet Macaw
Wikidata Q243761, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Scarlet Macaw (Wikidata)
WikidataWikidata Q243761 (P1034 main food source): fruit
Main food source (Wikidata property P1034): fruit.
In Ecosystem: Amazon Rainforest, Article text
The species' South American range is extensive, spanning much of the Amazon basin and rainforest of the northern half of the continent, extending as far south as Peru (east of the Andes) and Bolivia.
View the Source Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: PsittaciformesView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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