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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Illiger's
macaw, blue-winged macaw |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Psittaciformes |
| FAMILY: |
Psittacidae
(true parrots) |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Ara
(macaw) maracana (small macaw) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
Illiger's macaw is a small macaw with a black bill
and bare cheek regions. In general the plumage is
green. The forehead and sides of abdomen and lower
back orange-red to red; the crown is blue; the head,
nape, and cheeks greenish-blue; the wings blue with
blue primary-coverts and bluish-green edges; the
under wing-coverts olive-green. The tail feathers
are blue with reddish-brown tips and olive-yellow
underside. |
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| SIZE: |
Approximately
40 cm (15.7 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
Approximately
300 g (10.6 oz) |
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| DIET: |
Includes
seeds, fruits, nuts, and berries |
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| INCUBATION: |
Approximately
29 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
Usually
2 eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
11 weeks; then remain with parents for up to a year |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
2-4
years |
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| RANGE: |
Eastern
Brazil, Paraguay, and northeast Argentina |
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| HABITAT: |
Inhabit
forests (especially palm groves) |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
2,500-9,000 |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Near Threatened |
| CITES |
Appendix
I |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
These
birds enjoy palm groves, feeding almost exclusively
on the palm nuts and nesting in holes in the palms.
The palms normally grow in water, lending the macaws
additional protection against predators. |
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| 2. |
Macaws
are monogamous, remaining bonded for life. They
are often seenflying in large flocks and the bonded
pairs fly close together, their wings nearly touching. |
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| 3. |
In
the wild, macaws often flock to mountains of clay
known as "macaw licks". |
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| 4. |
Macaws
are playful and inquisitive and are able to mimic
human vocalizations very well. |
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| 5. |
Macaws
are extremely messy eaters - their incredibly strong
beaks are perfectly adapted for eating all sorts
of nuts and seeds, as seen in their ability to crack
open incredibly hard-shelled nuts with ease. |
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| 6. |
Macaws
are able to reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. |
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In
the course of daily feeding, macaws allow plenty
of seeds (while eating, as well as in their droppings)
to fall to the forest floor, thus generating much
of the forest growth.
Some
research suggests that, in the wild, Illiger's
sometimes do not live over 40 years of age because
of diseases, predators, stress, and bad eyesight!
After the breeding period, their life span rapidly
declines due to cataracts, making it difficult
to recognise danger or to find food.
Illiger's
macaws are seriously endangered in Paraguay because
of deforestation due to an ever-increasing demand
for tropical wood to supply the European and American
markets and a growing human population as the
primary causes of deforestation.
This
species is targeted for pet trade as well. Bird
collectors pay thousands of dollars per bird.
Smugglers take the eggs or young birds and sell
them to exotic pet stores. Recent observation
has led some scientists to believe that Illiger's
macaws may already be extinct in Bolivia.
The
U.S. Wild Bird Act forbids the commercial import
of any bird listed by CITES which includes most
parrots - endangered or threatened.
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| |
|
|
| Forshaw,
J.M. Parrots of the World. New Jersey. T.F.H.
Publications Inc. 1978. |
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|
Marrison,
C. and A. Greensmith. Birds of the World.
New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc. 1993. |
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| Low,
R. Macaws, A Complete Guide. London. Merehurst. |
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| Perrins,
C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Birds. New
York: Facts on File Publications. 1985. |
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| http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~roncaris/illigere.htm |
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| BirdLife International (2008) Species factsheet: Primolius maracana. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/8/2008. |
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