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Ara (genus)
Encyclopedia
Ara is a Neotropical genus of macaw
s with eight extant species and at least two extinct species. The genus name was coined by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. It gives its name to and is part of the Arini, or tribe of Neotropical parrot
s. The Ara macaws are large striking parrots with long tails, long narrow wings and vividly coloured plumage
. They all have a characteristic bare face patch around the eyes. Males and females have similar plumage. Many of its members are popular in the pet trade, and bird smuggling is a threat to several species.
and Diopsittaca. Orthopsittaca and Diopsittaca are two monotypic genera that were morphologically and behaviourally different, whereas the three Primolius macaws are three smaller green macaws.
There are eight surviving species and one extinct species. The last confirmed sighting of the extinct Cuban Red Macaw was in 1864 when one was shot. Several skins of the Cuban Red Macaw are preserved in museums, but none of its eggs have survived.
The Ara genus is subdivided as follows:
of the Ara genus have been postulated based on very little evidence. They may have been subspecies, or familiar parrots that were imported onto an Island and later presumed to have a separate identity.
(10 oz
) in weight in the Chestnut-fronted Macaw
to 90–95 cm (35–37 in) 1708 g (60 oz) in the Green-winged Macaw. The wings of these macaws are long and narrow which is typical for species of parrot which travel long distances in order to forage. They have a massive downward curved upper mandible and a patch of pale skin around the eye that extends to base of the beak
. The skin patch bears minute feathers arranged in lines that form a pattern over the otherwise bare skin in all species of the genus except the Scarlet Macaw in which the skin in bare. In most species the bill is black, but the Scarlet Macaw
and Green-winged Macaw have a predominantly horn coloured upper mandible and a black lower one.
The colours in the plumage
of the Ara macaws are spectacular. Four species are predominately green, two species are mostly blue and yellow, and three species (including the extinct Cuban Macaw) mostly red. There is no sexual dimorphism
in the plumage, and that of the juveniles is similar to adults, although slightly duller in some species.
to Argentina
. The centre of Ara distribution is the Amazon Basin
and the Panama
-Colombia
border-region; each with as many as four species found together (marginally five where the Military Macaw approach the western Amazon). Seven species are found in Bolivia
, but no single locality in that (or any other) country surpasses four species. The most widespread species, the Scarlet Macaw, is (or was) distributed throughout large parts of Central America and the Amazon. On the other hand the Blue-throated Macaw
and the Red-fronted Macaw
have tiny distributions in Bolivia. The overall range of many species and the genus as a whole has declined in historical times due to human activities. The Military Macaw
is distributed from northern Mexico to northern Argentina, but the distribution is discontinuous, with populations in Mexico, a large gap, then a population in the Venezuelan Coastal Range
and a population along the Andes
from western Venezuela
to northern Argentina. The Blue-and-yellow Macaw
was expiated from Trinidad
in the 1960s, as well as retreating from northern Argentina, and several species apparently went extinct in the islands of the Caribbean.
The Ara macaws are generally fairly adaptable in their habitat requirements; this reaches its extreme in the Scarlet Macaw, which as suggested in its widespread distribution, uses most habitat types from humid rainforest
to open woodlands to savannah
. The only requirement is sufficient large trees, which is where they obtain their food and breeding holes. The other species are slightly more narrow in their habitat choices, but the need for large trees is universal. The Blue-throated Macaw generally inhabits forest "islands" in the savanna, and the Red-fronted Macaw prefers arid scrub and cactus
woodland.
Within their range, birds may travel widely seasonally in search of food. They do not undertake large scale migrations
, but instead more local movements amongst a range of different habitats.
Like all macaws and most parrots seed
s and fruit
are the major part of the diet of the genus Ara. The particular species and range of diet varies from species to species. Unlike many birds macaws are seed predators not seed dispersers, and use their immensely strong beaks to open even the hardest shells. Their diet overlaps with that of some monkey
species; in one study of Green-winged Macaws in Venezuela
they shared many of the same trees as bearded saki
s, although in some cases they ate the seeds at an earlier stage of ripeness than the sakis, when they contained more poison. Macaws, like other parrots, may consume clay
to absorb toxic compounds produced by some poison
ous seeds they eat. As well, the toxic compounds of some foods may be neutralized by compounds, such as tannins, found in other foods consumed at the same time.
. The majority of species nest in cavities in trees, either live or dead. Natural holes in trees may be used, particularly those in dead trees, otherwise holes created by other species; in Mexico Military Macaws still use the cavities excavated by the now critically endangered Imperial Woodpecker
. In addition to nesting in trees the Military Macaw and Green-winged Macaw will also nest in natural fissures in cliffs. This nesting habitat is the only one used by the Red-fronted Macaws, as sufficiently large enough trees are absent in its arid range.
Macaw
Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...
s with eight extant species and at least two extinct species. The genus name was coined by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. It gives its name to and is part of the Arini, or tribe of Neotropical parrot
Neotropical parrot
The Neotropical parrots belong to the family of the true parrots Psittacidae. Several species and one of the 32 modern genera have become extinct in recent centuries. Though fairly few fossils of modern parrots are known, most of these are from Arini...
s. The Ara macaws are large striking parrots with long tails, long narrow wings and vividly coloured plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
. They all have a characteristic bare face patch around the eyes. Males and females have similar plumage. Many of its members are popular in the pet trade, and bird smuggling is a threat to several species.
Taxonomy
For many years the genus Ara contained a number of other species. Three genera have been split out from the genus, Orthopsittaca, PrimoliusPrimolius
Primolius is a genus of macaws comprising three species, which are native to South America. They are mainly green parrots with complex colouring including blues, reds and yellows. They have long tails, a large curved beak, and bare facial skin typical of macaws in general. They are less than...
and Diopsittaca. Orthopsittaca and Diopsittaca are two monotypic genera that were morphologically and behaviourally different, whereas the three Primolius macaws are three smaller green macaws.
Species and subspecies
The Ara genus is subdivided as follows:
- Blue-and-yellow MacawBlue-and-yellow MacawThe Blue-and-Yellow Macaw , also known as the Blue-and-Gold Macaw, is a member of the group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It breeds in forest and woodland of tropical South America from Trinidad and Venezuela south to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay...
, Ara ararauna (Linnaeus, 1758) - Blue-throated MacawBlue-throated MacawThe Blue-throated Macaw is a macaw endemic to a small area of north-central Bolivia known as Los Llanos de Moxos. Recent population and range estimates suggests that about 100-150 individuals remain in the wild. The main causes of their demise is capture for the pet trade and land clearance on...
, Ara glaucogularis DabbeneRoberto DabbeneRoberto Dabbene was an Italian-Argentine ornithologist.Born in Turin, he doctorated in 1884 at the University of Genoa and moved to Argentina in 1887. After teaching chemistry at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, he moved to Buenos Aires in 1890 to work in at the city zoo...
, 1921 - Military MacawMilitary MacawThe Military Macaw is a large parrot and a medium-sized member of the macaw genus. Though considered vulnerable as a wild species, it is still commonly found in the pet trade industry. A predominantly green bird, it is found in the forests of Mexico and South America.-Taxonomy:There are three...
, Ara militaris (Linnaeus, 1766)- Ara militaris bolivianus ReichenowAnton ReichenowAnton Reichenow was a German ornithologist.Reichenow was the son-in-law of Jean Cabanis, and worked at the Humboldt Museum from 1874 to 1921. He was an expert on African birds, making a collecting expedition to West Africa in 1872 and 1873, and writing Die Vögel Afrikas...
, 1908 - Ara militaris mexicanus Ridgway, 1915
- Ara militaris militaris (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Ara militaris bolivianus Reichenow
- Great Green MacawGreat Green MacawThe Great Green Macaw, Ara ambiguus, also known as Buffon's Macaw or the Great Military Macaw, is a Central and South American parrot found in Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Two allopatric subspecies are recognized, the nominate subspecies is found in Central America...
or Buffon's Macaw, Ara ambiguus (BechsteinJohann Matthäus BechsteinJohann Matthäus Bechstein was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist and entomologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds .-Biography:Bechstein was born in Waltershausen in the district of Gotha in Thuringia...
, 1811)- Ara ambiguus ambiguus (Bechstein, 1811)
- Ara ambiguus guayaquilensis ChapmanFrank ChapmanFrank Michler Chapman was a U.S. ornithologist and pioneering writer of field guides.Chapman was born in West Englewood, New Jersey and attended Englewood Academy. He joined the staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1888 as assistant to Joel Asaph Allen...
, 1925
- Scarlet MacawScarlet MacawThe Scarlet Macaw is a large, colorful macaw. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in lowlands up to up to...
, Ara macao (Linnaeus, 1758)- Ara macao cyanopterus Wiedenfeld, 1995
- Ara macao macao (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Red-and-green MacawRed-and-green MacawThe Red-and-green Macaw , also known as the Green-winged Macaw, is a large mostly-red macaw of the Ara genus.This is the largest of the Ara genus, widespread in the forests and woodlands of northern and central South America...
or Green-winged Macaw, Ara chloropterus GrayGeorge Robert GrayGeorge Robert Gray FRS was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years...
, 1859 - †Cuban Red MacawCuban Red MacawThe Cuban Red Macaw, Ara tricolor, is an extinct species of parrot that was native to Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud, an island off the coast of west Cuba. At about long it was one of the smaller members of the Ara genus of macaws. It was the last species of macaw native to the Caribbean...
, Ara tricolor Bechstein, 1811 (extinct: last known individual shot in 1864) - Red-fronted MacawRed-fronted MacawThe Red-fronted Macaw, Ara rubrogenys, is a parrot endemic to a small semi-desert mountainous area of Bolivia. It is highly endangered, and there may only be 150 or so birds left in the wild; it has been successfully bred in captivity, and is available, if not common, as a pet.-Description:The...
, Ara rubrogenys LafresnayeFrédéric de LafresnayeBaron Nöel Frédéric Armand André de Lafresnaye was a French ornithologist and collector.Lafresnaye was born into an aristocratic family at Chateau de La Fresnaye in Falaise, Normandy. He took an early interest in natural history, particularly entomology...
, 1847 - Chestnut-fronted MacawChestnut-fronted MacawThe Chestnut-fronted Macaw or Severe Macaw is one of the largest of the Mini-Macaws. It reaches a size of around of which around half is the length of the tail....
or Severe Macaw, Ara severus (Linnaeus, 1758) - †Saint Croix MacawSaint Croix MacawThe Saint Croix Macaw is an extinct species of parrot from the Caribbean islands of Saint Croix and Puerto Rico. It was originally described by Alexander Wetmore in 1937 based on a subfossil limb bone unearthed by L. J. Korn in 1934 from a kitchen midden at an Amerindian archeological sites on...
, Ara autocthones WetmoreAlexander WetmoreFrank Alexander Wetmore was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist.-Life:Wetmore studied at the University of Kansas...
, 1937 (extinct, known from subfossil bones)
Hypothetical extinct species
Several hypothetical extinct speciesHypothetical extinct species
Several extinct species have been postulated, but owing to a lack of evidence they can only be regarded as hypothetical extinct species. They have caused confusion, as they may have been a separate species, a subspecies, or an introduced species.-Parrots:...
of the Ara genus have been postulated based on very little evidence. They may have been subspecies, or familiar parrots that were imported onto an Island and later presumed to have a separate identity.
- Martinique MacawMartinique MacawThe Martinique Macaw, Ara martinica, is an hypothetical extinct species of parrot that may have been native to Martinique, a French island in the eastern Caribbean Sea....
, Ara martinica (RothschildWalter Rothschild, 2nd Baron RothschildLionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild FRS , a scion of the Rothschild family, was a British banker, politician, and zoologist.-Biography:...
, 1905) - Red-tailed Blue-and-yellow MacawRed-tailed Blue-and-yellow MacawThe Red-tailed Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Ara erythrura, is an hypothetical extinct species of parrot that may have been native to Jamaica or Martinique. This species was postulated by Walter Rothschild in 1907, but James Greenway suggested that, if anything, Ara erythrura is a synonym of the...
, Ara erythrura (Rothschild, 1907) - Lesser Antillean MacawLesser Antillean MacawThe Lesser Antillean Macaw also known as Guadeloupe Macaw is a hypothetical extinct species of macaw species from the Antilles island of Guadeloupe. It was first described in detail by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre in 1654 and 1657 and later in 1742 by Jean Baptiste Labat...
, Ara guadeloupensis ClarkeAustin Hobart ClarkAustin Hobart Clark was an American zoologist. He was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts and died in Washington, D.C...
, 1905 - Jamaican Green-and-yellow MacawJamaican Green-and-yellow MacawThe Jamaican Green-and-yellow Macaw may have been a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family that lived in Jamaica, but its existence is hypothetical.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
, Ara erythrocephala GossePhilip Henry GossePhilip Henry Gosse was an English naturalist and popularizer of natural science, virtually the inventor of the seawater aquarium, and a painstaking innovator in the study of marine biology...
, 1847 - Jamaican Red MacawJamaican Red MacawThe Jamaican Red Macaw may have been a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family that lived on Jamaica, but its existence is hypothetical.It is based on the following description of a specimen by Gosse:-References:...
, Ara gossei Rothschild, 1905 - Dominican Green-and-yellow MacawDominican Green-and-yellow MacawThe Dominican Green-and-Yellow Macaw or Atwood's Macaw, also called the Dominican Macaw, is extinct, and only known through the writings of zoologist Thomas Atwood in 1791...
, Ara atwoodi Clarke, 1905
Morphology and appearance
The Ara macaws are large parrots ranging from 46–51 cm (18–20 in) in length and 285 to 287 gGram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
(10 oz
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
) in weight in the Chestnut-fronted Macaw
Chestnut-fronted Macaw
The Chestnut-fronted Macaw or Severe Macaw is one of the largest of the Mini-Macaws. It reaches a size of around of which around half is the length of the tail....
to 90–95 cm (35–37 in) 1708 g (60 oz) in the Green-winged Macaw. The wings of these macaws are long and narrow which is typical for species of parrot which travel long distances in order to forage. They have a massive downward curved upper mandible and a patch of pale skin around the eye that extends to base of the beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. The skin patch bears minute feathers arranged in lines that form a pattern over the otherwise bare skin in all species of the genus except the Scarlet Macaw in which the skin in bare. In most species the bill is black, but the Scarlet Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
The Scarlet Macaw is a large, colorful macaw. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics. Range extends from extreme south-eastern Mexico to Amazonian Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in lowlands up to up to...
and Green-winged Macaw have a predominantly horn coloured upper mandible and a black lower one.
The colours in the plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
of the Ara macaws are spectacular. Four species are predominately green, two species are mostly blue and yellow, and three species (including the extinct Cuban Macaw) mostly red. There is no sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
in the plumage, and that of the juveniles is similar to adults, although slightly duller in some species.
Distribution and habitat
The Ara macaws have a Neotropical distribution from MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The centre of Ara distribution is the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
and the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
-Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
border-region; each with as many as four species found together (marginally five where the Military Macaw approach the western Amazon). Seven species are found in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, but no single locality in that (or any other) country surpasses four species. The most widespread species, the Scarlet Macaw, is (or was) distributed throughout large parts of Central America and the Amazon. On the other hand the Blue-throated Macaw
Blue-throated Macaw
The Blue-throated Macaw is a macaw endemic to a small area of north-central Bolivia known as Los Llanos de Moxos. Recent population and range estimates suggests that about 100-150 individuals remain in the wild. The main causes of their demise is capture for the pet trade and land clearance on...
and the Red-fronted Macaw
Red-fronted Macaw
The Red-fronted Macaw, Ara rubrogenys, is a parrot endemic to a small semi-desert mountainous area of Bolivia. It is highly endangered, and there may only be 150 or so birds left in the wild; it has been successfully bred in captivity, and is available, if not common, as a pet.-Description:The...
have tiny distributions in Bolivia. The overall range of many species and the genus as a whole has declined in historical times due to human activities. The Military Macaw
Military Macaw
The Military Macaw is a large parrot and a medium-sized member of the macaw genus. Though considered vulnerable as a wild species, it is still commonly found in the pet trade industry. A predominantly green bird, it is found in the forests of Mexico and South America.-Taxonomy:There are three...
is distributed from northern Mexico to northern Argentina, but the distribution is discontinuous, with populations in Mexico, a large gap, then a population in the Venezuelan Coastal Range
Venezuelan Coastal Range
The Venezuelan Coastal Range is a mountain range that runs along the central and eastern portions of Venezuela's northern coast...
and a population along the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
from western Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
to northern Argentina. The Blue-and-yellow Macaw
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
The Blue-and-Yellow Macaw , also known as the Blue-and-Gold Macaw, is a member of the group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It breeds in forest and woodland of tropical South America from Trinidad and Venezuela south to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay...
was expiated from Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
in the 1960s, as well as retreating from northern Argentina, and several species apparently went extinct in the islands of the Caribbean.
The Ara macaws are generally fairly adaptable in their habitat requirements; this reaches its extreme in the Scarlet Macaw, which as suggested in its widespread distribution, uses most habitat types from humid rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
to open woodlands to savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
. The only requirement is sufficient large trees, which is where they obtain their food and breeding holes. The other species are slightly more narrow in their habitat choices, but the need for large trees is universal. The Blue-throated Macaw generally inhabits forest "islands" in the savanna, and the Red-fronted Macaw prefers arid scrub and cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
woodland.
Within their range, birds may travel widely seasonally in search of food. They do not undertake large scale migrations
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, but instead more local movements amongst a range of different habitats.
Feeding and diet
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
are the major part of the diet of the genus Ara. The particular species and range of diet varies from species to species. Unlike many birds macaws are seed predators not seed dispersers, and use their immensely strong beaks to open even the hardest shells. Their diet overlaps with that of some monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
species; in one study of Green-winged Macaws in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
they shared many of the same trees as bearded saki
Bearded saki
The bearded sakis are five species of New World monkeys, classified in the genus Chiropotes. They live in the eastern and central Amazon in South America, ranging through southern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and northern and central Brazil...
s, although in some cases they ate the seeds at an earlier stage of ripeness than the sakis, when they contained more poison. Macaws, like other parrots, may consume clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
to absorb toxic compounds produced by some poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous seeds they eat. As well, the toxic compounds of some foods may be neutralized by compounds, such as tannins, found in other foods consumed at the same time.
Breeding
Like almost all parrots, the Ara macaws are cavity nestersBird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
. The majority of species nest in cavities in trees, either live or dead. Natural holes in trees may be used, particularly those in dead trees, otherwise holes created by other species; in Mexico Military Macaws still use the cavities excavated by the now critically endangered Imperial Woodpecker
Imperial Woodpecker
The Imperial Woodpecker is – or was – a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. If it is not extinct, it is the world's largest woodpecker species at 56-60 cm long...
. In addition to nesting in trees the Military Macaw and Green-winged Macaw will also nest in natural fissures in cliffs. This nesting habitat is the only one used by the Red-fronted Macaws, as sufficiently large enough trees are absent in its arid range.
Hypothetical extinct Ara
| Hypothetical extinct species | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Common and binomial names | Image | Description | Range |
| †Jamaican Green-and-yellow Macaw Jamaican Green-and-yellow Macaw The Jamaican Green-and-yellow Macaw may have been a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family that lived in Jamaica, but its existence is hypothetical.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007.... or Red-headed Green Macaw (Ara erythrocephala) Extinct |
 |
length unknown. Red head, bright green body, blue wings and greater coverts. scarlet tail and blue on top, whereas the tail and wings were intense orange-yellow underneath | Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... |
| †Red-tailed Blue-and-yellow Macaw Red-tailed Blue-and-yellow Macaw The Red-tailed Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Ara erythrura, is an hypothetical extinct species of parrot that may have been native to Jamaica or Martinique. This species was postulated by Walter Rothschild in 1907, but James Greenway suggested that, if anything, Ara erythrura is a synonym of the... (Ara erythrura) Extinct |
 |
length unknown. Blue and yellow. Rothschild's book Extinct Birds (1907) of Ara erythrura shows the tail tipped with blue on the color plate, while the text described it as "entirely red." | Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... or Martinique Martinique Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados... |
| †Jamaican Red Macaw Jamaican Red Macaw The Jamaican Red Macaw may have been a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family that lived on Jamaica, but its existence is hypothetical.It is based on the following description of a specimen by Gosse:-References:... or Gosse's Macaw (Ara gossei) Extinct |
 |
length unknown. Similar to the Cuban Red Macaw. Major difference: yellow forehead | Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... |
| †Martinique Macaw Martinique Macaw The Martinique Macaw, Ara martinica, is an hypothetical extinct species of parrot that may have been native to Martinique, a French island in the eastern Caribbean Sea.... (Ara martinica) Extinct |
 |
length unknown. Blue and orange-yellow (saffron). Similar to Ara ararauna. | Martinique Martinique Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados... |