Blue-throated macaw

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Blue-throated macaws weight between 1.3-2.9 lbs and length including tail feathers is around 33 inches (a little over 2.5 feet).
Their wingspan is just under 3 feet (2.95 feet).
Blue-throated macaws get their name from the vivid blue coloration covering their throat and are often called “barba azul” in Bolivia meaning blue beard. The crown, back and dorsal sides of their wings and tails are this same blue color. They also have golden feathers on the sides of their faces and on their breast.
They are not sexually dimorphic, although males are slightly larger than females.
Though similar to the blue and gold macaws, blue-throated macaws have 5 or 6 lines of feathers across their facial patch, while the blue and gold macaws have 3. These feathers can be used to identify individual adults.
The irises of their eyes will change color as they age. They start off as brown, turning grey and white around the age of 3, and then finally turning golden around age 10.

Range – Endemic to Bolivia; There are 2 populations. One lives north of the city of Trinidad in Bolivia, and one lives to the south of Trinidad. They inhabit a total area of 2,508 square kilometers.
Habitat – Beni savanna, a critically endangered ecosystem; The Beni savanna is a flooded savanna with palm tree “islands,” where blue-throated macaws forage and nest in the Motacú palm.

Wild – Leaves, seeds, grains, nuts, fruits; specialize on fruit of the Motacú palm
Zoo – Fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, vegetables, bird biscuits containing vitamins and minerals

Blue-throated macaws are sexually mature at 2-4 years of age.
They are monogamous and will mate for life.
They breed once a year. There are 1-3 eggs per clutch and eggs are incubated for 26-30 days.
They do not make their own nests, but find cavities in trees that have already been created by grubs that eat and hollow out the dead Motacú palms.
Females incubate the eggs and males bring the females food. Once the chicks hatch, both parents bring food back to the nest.
The nestlings fledge at around 13 to 14 weeks.
Young blue-throated macaws stay with their parents for up to a year.
Mated pairs often pick a different nesting site each year.

With only 400 blue-throated macaws left in the wild, immediate conservation action is critical for this species. Threats to these charismatic birds include habitat loss for logging and cattle ranching. There are very few old stands of the dead palms they nest in remaining since the lands is cleared, so they face a lack of viable nesting sites. The illegal pet trade also poses a threat.
Climate change is also affecting the blue-throated macaw, causing increased storms and flooding in their range.

Blue-throated macaws play an important role in the ecosystem as seed dispersers. Losing this species that fill this role will affect the forests, which humans depend on for food, lumber and other resources.

Zoo Atlanta supports blue-throated macaw conservation efforts by Asociacion Armonia through our Quarters for Conservation project for the 2019 – 2020 project cycle. Asociacion Armonia has established Barba Azul Nature Reserve, the world’s first protected habitat for the macaw in northern Bolivia. Preserving this critically endangered ecosystem not only protects the blue- throated macaw, but also neighboring species like jaguars, pumas and maned wolves. The association’s community-centered approach works to educate and engage local people in protecting macaws from poaching, rather than exploiting the birds in the illegal pet trade and decorative feather trade.
Blue-throated macaws were thought to be extinct due to trapping for the pet trade, but a small population was rediscovered in 1992. Zoo Atlanta’s blue-throated macaws are part of a Species Survival Plan, which maintains genetic diversity of a particular species within a zoological population.

You can help save wildlife including blue-throated macaws by purchasing sustainably-sourced paper products. Look for the Forest Stewardship Council logo or Sustainable Forestry Initiative logo on paper products.

Unlike other species of macaws, blue-throated macaws are not often seen in large flocks, although small groups (fewer than 10 individuals) have been observed. However, this is believed to be due to there being so few in the wild.
While their primary form of locomotion is flying, blue-throated macaws can also climb trees and walk across branches and on the ground.
Macaws are known for their loud, screeching calls that they make when interacting with other macaws or when they are threatened or frightened.
Their bright coloration actually provides them camouflage in the wild, allowing them to blend in with bright fruits, leaves and shadows.
Macaws are very intelligent birds with large brains. They are naturally curious and manipulate objects well, although tool use is rare in parrot species in the wild. Blue-throated macaws perform better than primates on some economic decision-making tasks, demonstrating that they can inhibit impulsive reactions to get more valuable food rewards in an experimental setting.
Macaws, including blue-throated macaws, also play an important role as seed dispersers in their environment. They are the main dispersers of the motacú palm, the trees they nest in.

Baños-Villalba, A., Blanco, G., Díaz-Luque, J.A., Dénes, F.V., Hiraldo, F., & Tella, J.L. (2017). Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem. Scientific Reports, 7 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07697-5
Birdlife International. 2018. Ara glaucogularis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from http://oldredlist.iucnredlist.org/details/full/22685542/0
Krasheninnikova, A., Höner, F., O’Neill, L., Penna, E. & von Bayern, A. (2018). Economic decision-making in parrots. Scientific Reports, 8 (1).
National Geographic. 2018. Macaws. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/group/macaws
San Diego Zoo. (n.d.). Macaw. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/macaw
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. (n.d.). Blue-throated macaw. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/birds/blue-throated-macaw/
World Parrot Trust. (n.d.). Blue-throated macaw. Retrieved December 11, 2018 from https://www.parrots.org/projects/blue-throated macaw
Wyatt, S. 2011. Ara glaucogularis. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved December 9, 2018 from https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ara_glaucogularis

Updated December 2018