Blue-winged macaw
| Blue-winged macaw | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Superfamily: | Psittacoidea |
| Family: | Psittacidae |
| Subfamily: | Arinae |
| Tribe: | Arini |
| Genus: | Primolius |
| Species: | P. maracana |
| Binomial name | |
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Primolius maracana Vieillot, 1816 |
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The blue-winged macaw (Primolius maracana), in aviculture more commonly known as Illiger's macaw, is a species of macaw found in central and eastern South America. It was previously placed in the genus Ara or Propyrrhura. Blue-winged macaws have been known to reach an age of 50–60 years.
It has a total length of approximately 36–43 cm (14–17 in). It has a moderately-sized black bill, a long tail and a mainly green plumage. The upperside of the remiges and primary coverts are blue, as indicated by its common name. The underside of the wings is yellowish, the tail-tip, crown and cheeks are bluish, and the tail-base and small belly-patch are red. The iris is amber. It and the red-bellied macaw are the only macaws where the bare facial-skin is yellowish, but this often fades to white in captivity. Unlike the red-bellied macaw, the blue-winged has a red lower abdomen and a red lower back.
The blue-winged macaw occurs in eastern and southern Brazil (with a remnant population north-east), eastern Paraguay and, at least formerly, in far north-eastern Argentina and east of Bolivia. It occurs in evergreen and deciduous forests, with a preference for gallery forest. They mainly feed on seeds of Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus, Jatropha, Guazuma ulmifolia, and the non-native Melia azedarach. However, the birds also feed on fruits and nuts.
The blue-winged macaw attain sexual maturity between 2 and 4 years after they are born. Adult females usually produce two eggs which take approximately 29 days to hatch. Young blue-winged macaws learn to fly about 11 weeks after they have hatched. They stay with their parents for about a year after learning to fly. Relatively little information exists on its reproduction in the wild, but the breeding season in north-eastern Brazil is apparently from December to February. However, in 1990, a female blue-winged macaw was discovered with a male Spix's macaw in a site.
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Wikipedia