Status

Of the seventeen remaining species of macaw, only the Blue-and-yellow Macaw is not endangered in the wild. Five species of macaw are already extinct, and Spix's Macaw is now considered to be extinct in the wild. The Glaucous Macaw is also probably extinct, with only two reliable records of sightings in the 20th century. The greatest problems threatening the macaw population are the rapid rate of deforestation and the illegal trapping of birds for the bird trade.

Birds in captivity

Macaws eat nuts and fruit and can destroy trees, so if kept as pets they should be provided with twigs to break.

Bonding: Macaws have a long life span, claimed as 150 years in the wild and 75 years in captivity. They will bond primarily with one person - their keeper.

Other sub-bondings also take place and most macaws that are subjected to non-aggressive behavior (i.e love) will trust most humans and can be handled by even strangers if someone familiar is within eyeshot of the bird.

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)

Species list

• Anodorhynchus
  • Anodorhynchus glaucus : Glaucous Macaw Conservation status: Critical
  • Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus : Hyacinth Macaw Conservation status: Endangered
  • Anodorhynchus leari : Indigo Macaw or Lear's Macaw Conservation status: Critical
• Cyanopsitta
  • Cyanopsitta spixii : Little Blue Macaw or Spix's Macaw Conservation status: Critical
• Ara
  • Ara ararauna : Blue-and-yellow Macaw
  • Ara glaucogularis : Blue-throated Macaw Conservation status: Critical
  • Ara militaris : Military Macaw Conservation status: Vulnerable
  • Ara ambigua : Great Green Macaw Conservation status: Vulnerable
  • Ara macao : Scarlet Macaw or Aracanga
  • Ara chloroptera : Red-and-green Macaw
  • Ara rubrogenys : Red-fronted Macaw Conservation status: Endangered
  • Ara severa : Chestnut-fronted Macaw
  • Ara atwoodi : Dominican Green-and-Yellow Macaw Conservation status: Extinct (1791)
  • Ara erythrocephala : Jamaican Green-and-Yellow Macaw Conservation status: Extinct (early 1800s)
  • Ara gossei : Jamaican Red Macaw Conservation status: Extinct (late 1700s)
  • Ara guadeloupensis : Lesser Antillean Macaw Conservation status: Extinct (1760)
  • Ara tricolor : Cuban Macaw Conservation status: Extinct (1885)
• Orthopsittaca
  • Orthopsittaca manilata : Red-bellied Macaw
• Propyrrhura
  • Propyrrhura couloni : Blue-headed Macaw
  • Propyrrhura maracana : Illiger's Macaw or Blue-winged Macaw Conservation status: Vulnerable
  • Propyrrhura auricollis : Golden-collared Macaw
• Diopsittaca
  • Diopsittaca nobilis : Red-shouldered Macaw or Hahn's Macaw

Blue-and-yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna)

Reference

ITIS 177653, 177659 (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177653)
as of 2002-07-15

External links

• DMOZ (http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Pets/Birds/Species/Parrots/Macaws/)

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