Red-bellied Macaw (Orthopsittaca manilata)

Red-bellied Macaw

[order] PSITTACIFORMES | [family] Psittacidae | [latin] Orthopsittaca manilata | [authority] Boddaert, 1783 | [UK] Red-bellied Macaw | [FR] Ara macavouanne | [DE] Rotbauch-Ara | [ES] Guacamayo Ventrirrojo | [NL] Roodbuikara

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Genus

The Red-bellied Macaw, Orthopsittaca manilata, is a medium-sized, mainly green parrot. It is the only species of the genus Orthopsittaca, and it does not have any subspecies.It is a resident bird in tropical Amazonian South America, from Colombia and Trinidad south to Amazonian Peru and Bolivia, and central Brazil as far as the northwestern cerrado of Brazil. Its habitat is forest and swamps with Moriche Palms (Mauritia flexuosa). Their life revolves solely around this species of palm tree.

Physical charateristics

It is mainly green and has the pointed, graduated tail typical of macaws. It has a red belly patch, blue forehead and upper wings, and a grey tint to the breast. The underwings and undertail are dull yellow. The face has bare yellow skin. Sexes are alike; the main difference between ages is that adults have a black bill, but in young birds it is yellowish.

Listen to the sound of Red-bellied Macaw

[audio:http://www.planetofbirds.com/MASTER/PSITTACIFORMES/Psittacidae/sounds/Red-bellied Macaw.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto


wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 50 cm size max.: 51 cm
incubation min.: 24 days incubation max.: 26 days
fledging min.: 73 days fledging max.: 26 days
broods: 1   eggs min.: 1  
      eggs max.: 3  

Range

South America : Amazonia

Habitat

Humid lowland evergreen forest, generally up to 500 m, but also penetrating tropical deciduous forest and gallery woodland in savanna and llanos, and even undisturbed caatinga vegetation. In Panama, occurs up to 1,000 m in terra-firme rainforest, and nesting in large trees. In Argentina, exists, or used to exist, presumably in Atlantic-type forest.

Reproduction

The nest is build in a hole of a dead palm, often above water. Clutch size is 1 to 3 eggs and incubation lasts 25 days. The fledging period is 10-11 weeks.

Feeding habits

Almost exclusively the seeds of the mauritca palm. But some other tree seeds eaten as well.

Video Red-bellied Macaw

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy53180S9Y4

copyright: N. Athanas


Conservation

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Red-bellies can be found in Venezuela, western Colombia, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia and Brazil. In Suriname bound to the savannahs with mauritia palm trees. Populations have declined due to a combination of capture for trade and habitat loss. Mostly
absent near population centres and declining or already disappeared at the periphery of its range
(which includes both Panama and Argentina).
Red-bellied Macaw status Least Concern

Migration

Resident throughout range.

Distribution map

Red-bellied Macaw distribution range map

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