Blue-throated Macaw

Ara glaucogularis

Content

Of 85 cm.. length and a weight between 600 and 1000 g..

The Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis) they have a very vivid coloration. Very similar to the more common Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna), easily differentiated by wide turquoise blue stain that reaches the throat.

These beautiful macaws have bright turquoise blue feathers that cover the throat, crown, the back and the back of your wings and tail. Yellow gold feathers grow in a strip between the crown blue and neck, on the sides of the face and in the ventral part of the body, the wings and tail.

In the face There is a patch sparsely feathered skin near the base of the great bill dark which has 5 or 6 horizontal stripes of blue feathers, unique for each Blue-throated Macaw and that they can be used to individually identify adults. The skin This patch is predominantly white with a tinge of pink around the bill.

The Blue-throated Macaw sample little sexual dimorphism.; However, the males they tend to be a little larger than the females with approximate masses of 600 and 800 g., respectively.

The newborn infants they are completely pink and have no feathers. The gray color of the underparts grows as they age, and is later replaced by colorful feather, fully developed. The irises It also changes color with age. The color of the eyes of a hatchling is initially black and changes to brown shortly after the opening of the eyes.

When is the Macaw one to three years, their eyes Gray become, then white. In the old mature, the irises It turns yellow and will be more golden color to the 10 years, becoming a gold richer with age.

The largest macaws They show a ring dark grey color that surrounds the pupil. This ring can be used to estimate the age of the Macaw.

• Sound of the Blue-throated Macaw.

Very scarce and localised. They inhabit gallery forests and tree islands surrounded by tropical savannah..

Seasonal rains cause floods in October to may and transform the Savannah in a swamp covered with grass that surrounds the high forest islands, permanently dry. The presence of Palms is required Motivate (Attalea phalerata) for the survival of the Blue-throated Macaw Since this species feeds, In addition to using it to build their nests. Also have favoritism by the Acrocomia aculeata.

They are most frequently between the elevations 200 and 300 m. Most of these macaws' habitat is used for cattle ranching.. But, the land is not suitable for cultivation, so there is one alteration of habitat for agriculture.

In general, observed in pairs; apparently less sociable nearby conspecifics than. The young are believed to stay with the parents for only a brief period of time., Perhaps that explains the infrequency in which observed small flocks or family groups. Probably communal roosts, sometimes with the Blue-and-yellow Macaw. They tend to use hangers in tall trees, especially of the species Tabebuia.

Although cattle trample young trees, Palms Motivate mature they are very resilient and resist damage. This Palm is also fire-resistant. As a result, Palms Motivate, often dominate the forest fragments in the Beni savanna (Llanos de Moxos).

The Blue-throated Macaw are monogamous and they mate for life. It is not known if these macaws are matched with another partner if your original partner, dies. Nothing more is known about systems of mating for this species in the wild.

Usually They nest in cavities of Palm trees, often the species Attalea phalerata, but they will also use other Palm species or trees Tabebuia. You can use the holes previously occupied by other species, for example, woodpeckers.

Dead Palm trees are ideal for nesting, insofar as they are excavated by large larvae after a tree has died.

Some species of macaws, including the Blue-throated Macaw, palm leaves are eaten, causing the death of the tree. The trunk of the Palm will be recessed by larvae, resulting in the creation of a potential nest. It is not yet known if this is a coincidence or if these birds do this intentionally to create nesting sites..

Nesting couples do not remain in a nest consecutive reproductive seasons and generally seek different nesting sites each year.

The reproduction do it once a year if environmental conditions permit; However, If eggs or chicks are lost, the breeding pair can produce a second clutch in the same breeding season.

It has been speculated that the two sub-populations they breed at slightly different times: the population of North from August to November and the population of South from November to March.

The female It puts one to three eggs by laying and incubated during 26 days. The chicks have a mass of about 18 g at hatching; they leave the nest to 13 to 14 weeks and not be completely independent parents for a full year. They will reach their sexual maturity to the 5 years.

The Blue-throated Macaw do not feed on seeds and nuts to the same extent that other many other species of macaws make it. On the other hand, they eat mainly fruit of large Palm trees, including the of the Attalea phalerata and Acrocomia aculeata.

They supplement their diet with seeds and leaves of Hura crepitans, Inflorescences of Syagrus botryophora and palm trees Astrocaryum vulgare.

Birds consume ripe and near-ripe fruit and drink fluids from immature palm fruits. Attalea.

The Blue-throated Macaw only found in the Beni Department, Bolivia (between 200 and 300 meters above the sea level). In total, They inhabit an area of 2508 square kilometers.

There is a two inhabited areas by two subpopulations, to the Northwest of Trinidad (the capital of Beni), and the other to the South of Trinidad. This separation may have occurred because of the indigenous peoples who historically inhabited this area and who hunted the Blue-throated Macaw in order to use their feathers in their ornamental costumes. This separation could also have been caused more recently by the wild bird trade. With the high population of humans, macaws in those areas would have a higher chance of being caught. The formation of large human settlements in this area also resulted in a loss of suitable habitat and fragmentation of the habitat of this species. So, there are not any Blue-throated Macaw in the vicinity of Trinidad.

Reports of birds in Tarija and Chuquisaca they have not been tested. Stock in Paraguay and North of Argentina they are still being corroborated and seem unlikely. Apparently resident. Scarce and highly dispersed.

• Current Red List of UICN: critically endangered

• Population trend: Stable

The Blue-throated Macaw is currently classified as in critical hazard on The IUCN Red list and figure in the Appendix I by the CITES. Trapping for this species is illegal because the Blue-throated Macaw they are protected by the national law of Bolivia and Convention on international trade in endangered species of Fauna and Flora Silvestres (CITES) from 1986. (Strem, 2008; “Blue-throated Macaw”, 2009)

The capture for the pet trade It is the main reason that the Blue-throated Macaw are in such critical danger. The rarity of this species drove the selling price, What gives as a result an increase in the pressure of capture. As more birds were captured, the rarity of the Blue-throated Macaw was on the rise. This became a vicious cycle that greatly reduced the wild population of these Macaws to the numbers currently observed.. Currently there is an estimated number of 50 to 250 specimens in the nature. (Hesse and Duffield, 2000; Jor­dan and Munn, 1993; “Blue-throated Macaw”, 2009)

Since the Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) became extinct in the 2000, the species Ara glaucogularis It is now the rarest among macaws in the world. With the low estimated wild population, extreme conservation actions are needed.

The World Parrot Trust has many volunteers and employees who work in the conservation of the Blue-throated Macaw. These people watch over nests to protect the chicks from predation. The chicks are also examined periodically to be sure that they are healthy and receive adequate food from their parents. If the female is not doing as well as expected, is then supplemented with formula. New nest boxes have been built and current nesting sites have been improved. The support of local landowners has also been established. (Gi­lardi, et to the., 2005; Kyle, 2006; Kyle, 2007b; Kyle, 2007to)

The Blue-throated Macaw they are relatively easy to breed in captivity, and the captive population is many times greater than the wild population.

This species of Macaw is now more common in captivity in United States and South Africa in its natural habitat. In a recent study of the species of the Appendix I of the CITES, carried out by the Committee CITES of the AF A, This species was the second more documented; only the Scarlet Macaw had been documented in greater numbers in captivity. It also, most owners have had success in breeding, Although it is uncommon to obtain seed of the second generation (only three owners have reported it). Without a doubt, This will change in the near future, When juveniles reach the age and maturity appropriate to reproduce.

With regard to its longevity, according to sources, a specimen lived during 22 years in captivity. It has been reported that these animals can live up to 32,8 years in captivity, but this has not been verified.

As a special, a specific installation of United States produces more than seventy copies of Blue-throated Macaw a year. The price of this species has experienced the most drastic decline of any parrot species; initially, It was not unusual to see couples of Blue-throated Macaw that were sold for even 10.000 $ americans, While it is now possible to find a pair of unrelated young by 3000 $ American or even less.

On the other hand, export made by breeders of United States to those of other countries is difficult to carry out at this time due to the strict restrictions on trade in this species imposed by the CITES. The legal trade in legal birds would certainly alleviate some of the threat hanging over the remaining flocks of wild birds..

Its feathers have also been used for ornamental costume decoration by indigenous groups..

Only breeders of a long experience with the most common species of Ara should consider obtaining these macaws.

– Blue-throated Macaw, Blue throated Macaw, Caninde Macaw, Wagler’s Macaw (English).
– Ara canindé, Ara à gorge bleue (French).
– Blaukehlara, Kaninde (German).
– Arara-de-garganta-azul (Portuguese).
– Guacamayo Barbazul, Guacamayo barbiazul, Guacamayo de Barba Azul, Papagayo azul y amarillo (español).
– Guacamaya caninde, Guacamaya garganta azul (Bolivia).
– Andapury, Arara (Guarani).
– Bagará (Emberá).
– Carú (Yucuna).
– Koatá (Tunebo).

– Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Psittacidae
– Genus: ARA
– Scientific name: Ara glaucogularis
– Citation: Dabbene, 1921
– Protonimo: Ara glaucogularis

————————————————————————————————

“Blue-throated Macaw” (Ara glaucogularis)

Sources:

– Avibase
– Parrots of the World – Forshaw Joseph M
– Parrots A Guide to the Parrots of the World – Tony Juniper & Mike Parr
– Birdlife
– Macaws. A Complete Guide by Rick Jordan.

– Photos:

(1) – A Blue-throated Macaw at Chester Zoo, Cheshire, England By Steve Wilson – over 2 million views thank you from Chester, UK (Blue throated MacawUploaded by snowmanradio) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(2) – Blue-throated Macaws at Chester Zoo, England. Photograph shows upper bodies of two macaws By David Friel [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(3) – A Blue-throated Macaw at Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA By Photo by Greg Hume (Greg5030) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(4) – Blue-throated Macaw at Cincinnati Zoo, USA By Ted (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_0388) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(5) – Blue-throated Macaw; photograph shows upper body of pet parrot By Ruth Rogers (originally posted to Flickr as Candinde Macaw) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(6) – A Macaw Ara ararauna at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Prades By Adityamadhav83 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(7) – The back of a Blue-throated Macaw showing the blue over its back and top of head By Eric Savage from USA [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
(8) – Blue-and-yellow macaw Ara ararauna at Himeji Central Park, Hyogo, Japan – opencage.info
(9) – Blue-throated Macaw at Chester Zoo, England By Matt Sims (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_0236) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

– Sounds: (Xeno-canto)