Red-bellied Macaw

The Red-bellied Macaw, is a large, colourful parrot, monotypic, the only member of the genus Orthopsittaca.

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. Their life revolves solely around this species of palm tree. Although locally common, in places it has been adversely affected by clearing of the palms for use as posts, or to allow cattle ranching; also by capture for the pet trade.

Description

The Red-bellied Macaw is about 46 cm (18 in) long and weighs 370 g. It is mainly green and has the pointed, graduated tail typical of macaws. It has a burgundy red patch on its belly, blue forehead and upper wings, and a grey tint to the breast. The underwings and undertail are dull yellow. The face has bare mustard yellow skin covering most its face. Sexes are alike; the main difference between ages is that adults have a black bill, juveniles under one year old have a white lateral stripe on their top beak and grows out within one year. There is only one other species of macaw that shares this characteristic with the Red-bellied Macaw and this is the Spix's Macaw

Behaviour

Red-bellied Macaws make reedy, high-pitched screams. They eat the fruit and seeds of palm trees, especially the Mauritius Palm. They roost communally in these Palms, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk.

Breeding

The Red-bellied Macaw nests in a hole in a tree, their primary choice being the Mauritius Palm. There are usually two to four white eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 77 days after hatching.

Range

In the Amazon Basin, the North Region, Brazil, the Red-bellied Macaw is throughout, except in the northwest quadrant centered on a large region of the Rio Negro flowing from Colombia-Venezuela; it ranges through the Guianas including the Guiana Highlands into eastern Venezuela, and the lower Orinoco River Basin.

Its southern limit in Brazil is the south-central and northwestern cerrado bordering the Amazon Basin.

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