The blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) is a large psittaciform bird in the family Psittacidae, native to the tropical forests of Panama and much of South America.
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Psittaciformes |
| Family | Psittacidae |
| Genus | Ara |
| Species | Ara ararauna |
The blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) is one of the largest and best-known macaws. Its upper body and wings are turquoise blue, its underparts orange-yellow, its forehead green and its throat black, and it has a large, curved black beak. Its face is white and bare, crossed by fine lines of small black feathers.
It measures around 80 cm in length and weighs about a kilo. Males and females look practically identical to the naked eye. It is a very long-lived bird: in captivity it can live for more than 50 years.
It lives in humid lowland tropical forests, in forests along rivers and in swampy areas with palms, from Panama to Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. It is usually seen in pairs or small family groups, and forms very stable pairs.
It feeds on seeds, fruit, nuts and shoots, and its powerful beak can crack very hard seeds. In the wild it visits so-called “clay licks”, clay walls that it licks to supplement its diet.
It nests in the hollows of large trees and in dead palms. The usual clutch is two or three eggs, which the female incubates for about 28 days. The chicks stay in the nest for about three months.
Like other macaws, it can imitate sounds, and its loud squawk can be heard from a great distance in the jungle.
It is classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN, although habitat loss and capture for the pet trade affect its populations. It is listed in CITES Appendix II.
