Great Green Macaw
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| Great Green Macaw | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Ara ambiguus (Bechstein, 1811) |
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 Red area is the range
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A. a. ambiguus |
The Great Green Macaw, Ara ambiguus, also known as Buffon's Macaw, is a Central American parrot found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Two isolated subspecies are recognized, the nominate form is found in Central America to Northern Colombia, while the A. a. guayaquilensis is found in Ecuador and possibly south-western Colombia.[2]
Great Green Macaws are green, with a reddish forehead and pale blue lower back, rump and upper tail cover feathers. Tail is brownish red tipped with very pale blue. They are the largest parrots in their natural range, averaging at 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) and nearly 90 cm (36 in).
It has been described as endangered [3], and has been one of the key elements in the proposal for the formation of a new National Park in Costa Rica, Maquenque National Park. Already significant parts of the bird's existing habitat is covered by Nature reserves and other conservation projects.
The scientific name has recently been changed from A. ambigua to A. ambiguus to bring the name in gender agreement.[4]
Buffon's macaw is sometimes bred in captivity, having a less nervous personality than most other macaws, but it is still very rarely seen as a pet.
[edit] References
- ^ BirdLife International (2005). Ara ambiguus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered
- ^ Forshaw, Joseph M.; Cooper, William T. [1973, 1978] (1981). Parrots of the World, corrected second edition, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London. ISBN 0-7153-7698-5.
- ^ BirdLife International 2005. Ara ambiguus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 05 May 2006.
- ^ David and Gosselin (2002b)
[edit] External links
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