Species Fact Profile: Red-Fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys)

                                                             Red-Fronted Macaw

                                           Ara rubrogenys (Lafresnaye, 1847)

Range:  South-Central Bolivia (Santa Cruz Department)

Habitat: Semi-Desert, Dry Forest

Diet: Fruits, Cacti, Grasses

Social Grouping: Small Flocks (3-5), sometimes congregating in larger flocks

Reproduction: Form monogamous bonds which are maintained year round, with pairs copulating and preening year round to maintain the pair bound.  Often seen engaging in affectionate behaviors, such as grasping beaks and nibbling each other’s faces.  Breed once yearly, October through March.  Lay 1-3 eggs, incubated for around 26 days.  Both parents care for the chicks.  Sexually mature at 3-6 years old, but usually don’t breed until 10-12 years old

Lifespan: 25-50 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered.  CITES Appendix I

• Body length 55-60 centimeters.  Average wingspan of about 80 centimeters.  Weigh 425-550 grams, making them the lightest of Ara macaws
• Sexes look alike.  Predominately green, with a red forehead and a red patch over the ears.  The wings are edged in bright orange or red, and there is red at the bend of the wing.  The primary feathers are blue.  There is an area of pinkish skin around the eyes, extending to the beak.  Juveniles have entirely green heads, getting some red in at 6-12 months of age
• Whereas most macaws nest in tree cavities, there are no large trees in its range (the only semi-desert macaw), so it instead nests in the vertical fissures of cliff faces.  
• Generally not territorial, though during the breeding season pairs may defend the area immediately surrounding their nest site.
• Very vocal.  In addition to loud squawk, can also squeak and whistle, make a twitter sound to solidify pair bonds or an alert sound to warn other macaws to danger.  When one bird in a flock vocalizes, the others often quickly repeat the call
• Important seed disperser for cacti; may also serve as pollinators
• Sometimes also known as Lafresnaye’s macaw after Frederic de Ladresnaye, the French ornithologist who described the species
• Primary threat is illegal capture for the pet trade (primarily for local demand, but also for international trade), along with habitat loss, in part caused by overgrazing by domestic livestock.  Persecuted by farmers as an agricultural pest in retaliation for raiding crops (especially attracted to corn).  Poorly enforced local protection.  Naturally rare with small range
• Species first documented in North American zoo collections in 1914, with one female obtained by the Milwaukee County Zoo from a private owner.   Not regularly kept in zoos until 1976, with the first recorded captive hatch at the Oklahoma City Zoo in 1986.