Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Ara ararauna

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

“ Much talking is the cause of danger. Silence is the means of avoiding misfortune. The talkative parrot is shut up in a cage. Other birds, without speech, fly freely about. ”

– Saskya Pandita

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

Genus: Ara

Species: Ara ararauna

Descendant: Macaw

Named by: Carl Linnaeus

Year Published: 1758

Size: 76–86 cm (30–34 in) and weigh 0.9–1.5 kg (2–3 lb)

Lifespan: 30 to 35 years

Type: 

Title: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Holocene

Alignment: Loyal

Threat Level: ★★

Diet: Herbivorous

Elements: Sound, air, normal

Inflicts: n/a

Weaknesses: Combat, electric, ice

Casualties: n/a

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) – IUCN Red List 

The Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot inhabits forest (especially varzea, but also in open sections of terra firme or unflooded forest), woodland and savannah of tropical South America. 

Etymology

This macaw is now one of the eight extant species placed in the genus Ara that was erected in 1799 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède. The genus name is from ará meaning "macaw" in the Tupi language of Brazil. The word is an onomatopoeia based on the sound of their call. The specific epithet ararauna comes from the Tupi Arára úna meaning "big dark parrot" for the hyacinth macaw.

Physical Appearance

The Blue-and-Yellow Macaw is a huge South American parrot with a predominantly blue dorsum, a pale yellow/orange ventrally, and a gradient of green colors on top of its head. It belongs to the broad group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. 


These birds can reach a length of 76–86 cm (30–34 in) and weigh 0.9–1.5 kg (2–3 lb), making them some of the larger members of their family. They are vivid in appearance with bright aqua blue feathers on the top of their body except for the head, which is lime colored. The bottom, however, is a rich deep yellow/light orange. Their beak is black, as well as the feathers under their chin. Its feet are of a gray color, save for black talons. The bird has white skin, with its face having nearly no feathers beside a few black ones spaced apart from each other forming a striped pattern around the eyes. The irises are pale light yellow.

Abilities

Captive or wild individuals can be taught to speak both males and females. Despite lacking the larynx that humans use to speak, macaws do have a syrinx. A macaw can learn to speak human words—and even sentences—when air is passed over the syrinx and into the throat and mouth, where it is controlled by the tongue. The syrinx is located at the bottom of its trachea.

Ecology

Parrots usually feed on buds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, and seeds; wild individuals will regularly visit gardens and other locations near human habitation, taking food from bird feeders. Oils, salts, chocolate, alcohol, and other preservatives should be avoided and also fly several miles to forage.


The blue-and-yellow macaw typically has lifelong relationships. Most of their nests are in Mauritia flexuosa palms, which they virtually exclusively use as breeding grounds. Usually, the female lays two or three eggs. For around 28 days, the female incubates the eggs. The others die in the nest while the dominant chick takes most of the food. After hatching for roughly 97 days, chicks leave the nest. The hue of the male bird indicates that he is ready to breed. The likelihood of finding a partner increases with the brightness and boldness of the colors.


The predators of the parrots are hawks, falcons, snakes, mongooses, wolves, cats, catfishes and more.

Behavior

It goes about it's business peacefully and fly away, but if you attack it from your attacks. When engaging with humans, the blue-and-yellow macaw has been observed to blush its exposed face skin and fluff the feathers on its head, nape, and cheeks. This could be the parrot's way of expressing how it is feeling.

Distribution and Habitat

Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay are all home to this species. The range only extends a little bit into Panama in Central America. Most breed in rural and woodland regions, although a few, like those in Rondonópolis (Mato Grosso, Brazil), breed in urban areas, nesting among dead palm trees put for ornamentation next to city roadways.


In Puerto Rico, there is a small breeding population descended from introduced birds, and since the middle of the 1980s, another population has lived in Miami-Dade County, Florida.


Tamed

Parrots can be pet, you must feed with non-chocolate or non-vanilla biscuits or seeds. They are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans. They can also live for 65–70 years. Blue-and-yellow macaws are wonderful pets due to their sociability and even, gentle nature. They have advantages in terms of intelligence, learning capacity, and communication skills.

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