Red-and-green Macaw

An exceptionally large and brilliantly colored member of the Psittacidae family, this majestic bird stands out as one of the most robust and visually striking macaws in the Neotropics. It measures between 35 and 37 inches in total length and weighs from 2.3 to 3.7 pounds in healthy adult specimens. The primary body plumage is a deep and vibrant crimson-red, which covers the head, mantle, chest, and underparts. Its most distinctive wing diagnostic feature is a broad median band of olive-green coverts, which transitions sharply into deep royal blue flight feathers and primary coverts. The facial area features a patch of bare, creamy-white skin decorated with fine, parallel lines of tiny red feathers, separating it visually from other sympatric macaws. The bill is extremely powerful, specialized in crushing hard nuts; the upper mandible is bicolored, showing a horn-colored ivory hue with blackish edges near the gape, while the lower mandible is a uniform, solid blackish-gray. The eyes have a light pale-yellow iris in mature adults, and the zygodactyl feet are a dull dark gray.

An exceptionally large and brilliantly colored member of the Psittacidae family, this majestic bird stands out as one of the most robust and visually striking macaws in the Neotropics. It measures between 35 and 37 inches in total length and weighs from 2.3 to 3.7 pounds in healthy adult specimens. The primary body plumage is a deep and vibrant crimson-red, which covers the head, mantle, chest, and underparts. Its most distinctive wing diagnostic feature is a broad median band of olive-green coverts, which transitions sharply into deep royal blue flight feathers and primary coverts. The facial area features a patch of bare, creamy-white skin decorated with fine, parallel lines of tiny red feathers, separating it visually from other sympatric macaws. The bill is extremely powerful, specialized in crushing hard nuts; the upper mandible is bicolored, showing a horn-colored ivory hue with blackish edges near the gape, while the lower mandible is a uniform, solid blackish-gray. The eyes have a light pale-yellow iris in mature adults, and the zygodactyl feet are a dull dark gray.

Geographical distribution: This species enjoys a vast distribution across the northern and central regions of South America. It ranges from eastern Panama, extending southwards and eastwards through Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Its distribution continues through the Amazonian regions of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, encompassing a significant portion of Brazil and reaching its southernmost limits in northern Paraguay. In Argentina, wild populations suffered an extensive ecological extinction during the 20th century, but active reintroduction programs are currently underway in the Corrientes province, specifically within the Iberá National Park, aiming to restore functional wild populations.

Habitat: It primarily inhabits pristine lowland humid rainforests, showing a strong preference for terra firme forests and dense gallery forests along major river courses. It can also be found in semi-deciduous woodlands, forested savannas, and humid premontane forest valleys, typically ranging from sea level up to elevations of 3,300 to 4,600 feet. The presence of mature canopy and emergent trees is a critical habitat requirement, as the species avoids heavily degraded or highly fragmented forest landscapes and areas with high human density.

Feeding: It is a highly specialized granivore and frugivore that relies on its massive bill to crack open resources that are inaccessible to other avian species. Its diet is mainly composed of heavy, hard-shelled seeds and nuts from tree families such as Lecythidaceae and Fabaceae, alongside various wild fruits, palm nuts, and tender leaf shoots. A notable ecological behavior is its regular attendance at riverbank clay cliffs, known as clay licks or colpas. At these sites, the birds ingest mineral-rich clay, which helps them buffer and neutralize dietary toxins and alkaloids found in the unripe fruits and seeds they consume.

Behavior: It exhibits highly gregarious behavior, typically traveling in stable pairs, family cohorts of three to four individuals, or larger communal flocks around concentrated food sources. They are powerful flyers, navigating above the canopy while emitting exceptionally loud, harsh, screeching vocalizations that maintain flock contact over vast distances. These birds possess remarkable cognitive abilities and show strong social bonds through reciprocal allopreening, which serves both to maintain plumage health and to reinforce their lifelong monogamous pair bonds.

Nesting: Breeding behavior in Ara chloropterus is defined by strict, lifelong monogamy. For nesting, this species relies on large, pre-existing cavities in mature emergent trees, such as those in the genera Dipteryx or Cedrela, usually located at heights exceeding 65 feet from the forest floor; in some geographic areas, it may nest in deep crevices along sandstone cliffs. The female lays a clutch of 2 to 3 white eggs, which she incubates exclusively for a period of 26 to 28 days, while the male provides food. Following hatching, the altricial chicks remain in the nest cavity under intense parental care for 90 to 100 days before fledging, and they remain associated with their parents for several months afterward to learn essential foraging techniques.

Conservation status: It is currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Although its global distribution is geographically massive, localized populations are experiencing rapid declines and extinctions. The primary threats facing this species are habitat loss and fragmentation driven by deforestation, the logging of large nesting trees, and intense pressure from the illegal wildlife trade to supply the domestic and international exotic pet market.