Scarlet Macaw
Scarlet Macaw | ||||||||||||
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![]() Scarlet Macaw ( Ara macao ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Ara macao | ||||||||||||
( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The scarlet macaw ( Ara macao ), also called arakanga , is a species of parrot belonging to the genus of real macaws . It is one of the largest parrots in the world. It can reach a length of up to 90 cm and a weight of up to 1 kg. It can be easily distinguished from the similar, mainly red, green-winged macaw by its yellow wing spot.
food
Macaws feed on seeds , nuts , fruits , berries, and buds . The specially designed beak makes it very easy for parrots to crack the shells of nuts and hard-shelled fruits. The macaw's upper beak is strongly curved with a pointed hook with which you can fish grains out of large fruits. The versatility of the beak is also aided by the rough muscular tongue . Scientists also found that parrots prefer to use a specific foot to reach their beak for food. This corresponds to right or left handedness in humans.
habitat
The scarlet macaw lives in moist lowland forests , clearings , savannahs and on river banks from southeast Mexico to central Brazil , but not in the Andes and the west coast of South America .
Social behavior
The scarlet macaw lives in groups of around 20 animals. Only during the breeding season do macaws move away from their groups in pairs. The female lays two to four eggs in a tree cavity. The female breeds and is supplied with food by the male. The young hatch after four to five weeks and then live in the nest for up to four months. During this time, both females and males go looking for food. The young are sexually mature after about two years. Scarlet macaws live monogamous and stay together for a lifetime. The foraging takes place within a radius of about ten kilometers around the macaw's sleeping tree.
Enemies
The enemies of the macaw include cats , so-called egg thieves and birds of prey . Due to wild trapping and habitat destruction, humans are also among the enemies of the scarlet macaws.
swell
Web links
- Ara macao in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 9 of 2009.
- Ara macao videos, photos and sound recordings in the Internet Bird Collection
- Captive breeding and release program of Ara macao (English)
- Tambopata Macaw Project (English)
- https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=DE&avibaseid=5B015EDA14786E2D
- https://www.zootierliste.de/?klasse=2&ordnung=218&familie=22913&art=2130709