Geographic Range
Blue macaws are native to the neotropics. The geographic range of blue macaws is from
lower Central America to about halfway down the South American continent and is concentrated
south of the Amazon River.
- Biogeographic Regions
- neotropical
Habitat
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
prefers semi-open habitats. These are usually forests which have a dry season that
prevents the growth of extensive, tall, closed-canopy tropical forest. Blue macaws
live in a variety of habitats, including deciduous woodland, cerrado and palm groves,
and the palm-Savannas of the Pantanal. The Pantanal is a particularly important habitat
for the macaws, providing a large, lush oasis in southern Brazil.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- mountains
- Wetlands
- swamp
- Other Habitat Features
- riparian
Physical Description
As the largest of all parrots, blue macaws are 95 to 100 cm long (37.5 to 39.5 inches),
although half that length is tail. They weigh approximately 3.5 pounds (1,200 to
1,700 g) and their wingspans are from 117 to 127 cm. Typically macaws do not have
feathers in the area surrounding the eyes and on fairly large areas on the side of
the head.
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
, however, has only a small ring around the eye and around the base of the lower mandible
which are bare, revealing prominent rich yellow skin. Blue macaws are a uniform ultramarine
blue, which is rich and glossy. The beak of blue macaws is massive, black and hooked.
Like most parrots, the beak is used as a third foot to grasp onto trees, which is
helpful for climbing. They have short, sturdy legs, which are useful for hanging
sideways and upside-down. Male and female blue macaws are alike.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Although blue macaws breed year round, they have a low reproductive rate; from 100
pairs, about 7 to 25 offspring are produced per year. This is counteracted by their
longevity; they have lifespans which last decades. Blue macaws are monogamous, usually
remaining with one partner for their entire life.
- Mating System
- monogamous
Blue macaws nest in tree cavities and cliffs, depending on their location. They will
nest in dead and living tree hollows usually 4 to 14 m off the ground. Although copulation
occurs year round, nesting usually occurs during the wet season, which last from November
to April south of the equator. Macaws typically lay one to two eggs per clutch in
a two-day interval. The incubation period is between 25 to 28 days. During this
period the female spends about 70 percent of her time with the eggs and is fed by
the male. Although the eggs are preyed upon by jays, coatis and skunks, among others,
the hatching rate is 90 percent successful. The chicks fledge in 13 weeks, but the
fledglings stay with the female for about 18 months. They reach sexual maturity in
6 to 10 years.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Typically, it takes
A. hyacinthinus
eggs 25 to 28 days to hatch. If both eggs hatch, the mother rears only one. The
mother provides the altricial nestling with food and protection. After a week the
male joins the female in feeding. Food for the chick consists of regurgitated partially-digested
crop contents. The time to fledging is about 13 weeks, and the birds are independent
after 18 months.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
- altricial
-
pre-hatching/birth
- protecting
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
The lifespan of Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus is unknown, partly because it lives so long. The estimate is around 50 years.
Behavior
Blue macaws are very social birds. They perform courting, copulation and bonding
activities throughout the year, and are usually seen in pairs. They are most active
from morning to mid-afternoon and fly in groups of two to eight to and from the feeding
grounds. After feeding they return home to their roosting trees around sunset and
spend the night there. Blue macaws are often described as gentle giants, with gentle
and loving personalities.
Home Range
The home range of blue macaws largely depends on the location of their food source. Some choose not to stray far, others travel legnthy distances every day to their feeding grounds. They usually travel in large groups.
Communication and Perception
Blue macaws have harsh, gutteral calls which they often emit when alarmed.
- Communication Channels
- acoustic
Food Habits
Blue macaws are equipped with large beaks which they use to crack open the shells
of nuts. These nuts are usually quite hard, so the bird first files down the thickness
of the shell in one area with its beak, and then breaks it cleanly in half. Their
large hooked bill is notably efficient when compared to other macaws. Blue macaws
feed on 8 species pf palm nuts, which are rich in nutrients and fat. Two of the species
of plam trees are
Acrocomia iasiopatha
and
Astryocaryun tucuma
. They are largely dependent on palm nuts, but will occasionally feed on small seeds,
palm sprouts and snails. Most of the feeding occurs on the ground, though macaws
use their ability to climb to pick palm nuts from clusters within the trees. Blue
macaws have also been known to eat palm nuts that have passed through the bowls of
cattle.
- Animal Foods
- mollusks
- Plant Foods
- seeds, grains, and nuts
Predation
The primary predators of blue macaws are egg predators: jays and crows (family
Corvidae
), coatis (genus
Nasua
), toucans (family
Ramphastidae
), and skunks (subfamily
Mephitinae
).
Ecosystem Roles
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus serves an important role in its ecosystem by dispersing seeds and nuts throughout its territory.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Blue macaws are economically important to humans in that interest in the bird sparks
the tourism industry in Brazil. They are also part of the international live-bird
trade. Capture and export of wild birds (although illegal in Brazil) has caused a
sharp decline in the population.
- Positive Impacts
- pet trade
- ecotourism
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse affects of A. hyacinthinus on humans.
Conservation Status
Blue macaws live in areas, such as swamps, that are not coveted for agricultural use.
However, the population has been steadily declining for many years. Unfortunately,
blue macaws live in an area of Brazil that is being rapidly developed. The destruction
of their habitat, as well as hunting and trapping by humans, has substantially reduced
their numbers. Long term conservation efforts have been made, and now some land owners
living in the Patanal do not allow trappers on their property.
A. hyacinthinus is currently listed in Appendix I of CITES, a decision which was made in July of 1987. They are classified as endangered on the IUNC Red List.
Additional Links
Contributors
Alaine Camfield (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Emily Hagan (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- swamp
-
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
- riparian
-
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- pet trade
-
the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets.
- ecotourism
-
humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- granivore
-
an animal that mainly eats seeds
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Collar, N., L. Gonzaga, N. Krabbe, A. Madroño Nieto, L. Naranjo, T. Parker, D. Wege. 1992. "Entry on the Hyacinth Macaw in Threatened Birds of the Americas" (On-line). Accessed April 14, 2004 at http://www.bluemacaws.org/hywild10.htm .
Grzimek, B. 1972. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia . New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
Munn, C. 1989/90. Report on the Hyacinth Macaw. Audubon Wildlife Report : 405-419.
Ridgley, R. 1989. First Among Parrots - Hyacinth Macaws in the wild. Birds International , 1(1).
Ridgley, R. 1980. The Current Distribution and Status of Mainland Neotropical Parrots. Conservation of New World Parrots : 237-238. Accessed April 15, 2004 at http://www.bluemacaws.org/hywild16.htm .
Scheepers, G. 2001. "Hyacinth Macaw" (On-line). Thomasriver Aviaries. Accessed April 14, 2004 at http://www.thomasriver.co.za .