Blue-throated Macaw
Encyclopedia
The Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis; previously Ara caninde) is a macaw
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...

 endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to a small area of north-central 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...

 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
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...

 trade and land clearance on cattle ranches. It is currently considered critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...

 and the parrot is protected by trading prohibitions.

Range and habitat

The Blue-throated Macaw lives in the savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...

 of the Beni Department
Beni Department
Beni, sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second largest department in the country , covering 213,564 square kilometers , and it was created by supreme decree on November 18, 1842 during the administration of General José...

 of Bolivia, nesting in "Islas" (islands) of palm trees that dot the level plains. It is not a forest dwelling bird.

Description

The Blue-throated Macaw is about 85 cm (33 in) long including the length of its tail feathers, and weighs about 750 g (27 oz). It has vivid colours with turquoise-blue wings and tail, and bright yellow underparts and blue undertail coverts. The throat is blue and continuous with its blue cheeks. It has a large black bill. Bare skin at the base of the beak is pink and pale bare skin on the sides of the face is partly covered with lines of small dark blue feathers. The adults have yellow irises and the juveniles have brown irises
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...

. It can be separated from the slightly larger 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...

 by the blue (not black) throat, the blue (not green) forehead and the lack of contrast between the remiges and upperwing coverts
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...

.

Behaviour

In the wild the Blue-throated Macaw often competes for nesting-holes in trees with the Blue-and-yellow Macaw, large woodpeckers and toucans. The number of suitable nest trees has been reduced by land clearing in its range.

Aviculture

They are relatively easy to breed in captivity, and the captive population is many times larger than the wild population. Individuals are kept in several zoos around the World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....

, among them the Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country...

 zoo in Bolivia.

Several breeding and conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 schemes in zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

s have now been set up to save this species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. Other projects have been started to protect the remaining wild population, but at present numbers are still decreasing.

In the wild, within the palm groves of Bolivia, birds nest in tree hollows created in dead palm trunks, rotten knot-holes and dead limbs of trees. There is some evidence that parents maintain the third chick of a clutch with minimal food as an insurance against the loss of the older dominant chicks. If disaster should befall the larger chick the parent can switch to feeding the youngest and it will exhibit a constant growth curve from the day of active feeding. It is this physiological response that enables researchers to raise the third chick of a clutch in captivity and then return them to the wild nests when they are nearing fledge.

Blue-throated Macaws are early nesters and utilize these rare resources of nest holes before the other macaws are in breeding condition.

Conservation status

This species has a very small population and is on the verge of extinction in the wild. It is listed on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...

 as Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered
Critically Endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species. Critically Endangered means that a species' numbers have decreased, or will decrease, by 80% within three generations....

.

External links

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