Yellow-breasted macaw

Yellow-breasted macaw

We are delighted that Sabine Zilske has taken over the sponsorship of this bird. Congratulations! She is thus supporting the further expansion of the rainforest exhibition at Museum Koenig.

The yellow-breasted macaw(Ara ararauna) is a large species from the family of true parrots (Psittacidae). It is found in almost the entire northern half of South America, between Panama and Argentina.

The external appearance of the yellow-breasted macaw is also well known to many laypeople, e.g. from zoos, and is very similar to that of the blue-throated macaw. It grows up to 86 cm tall and weighs up to 1.4 kg. The plumage of the head is green in colour, changing to a bright blue towards the back. The entire upper side of the body is this shade of blue, while the underside of the body is bright yellow in colour. The large and powerful beak is used for cracking nuts and climbing in branches.

The habitat of the yellow-breasted macaw is tropical and subtropical forests, gallery forests, swampy or partially flooded forests and open semi-savannahs up to an altitude of 1500 metres above sea level. However, it is not usually found above 500 metres. Here it goes in search of its food, which consists mainly of fruits, seeds, nuts, leaves and berries.

The breeding season of the yellow-breasted macaw is between December and May. The nest is almost always an old tree cavity, usually in a palm tree. The clutch usually consists of 1 to 3 eggs, which are incubated by the female for around 28 days. However, often only one young is reared to the end. The others die of malnutrition, as one young animal is dominant and claims most of the food for itself.

Due to its enormous range, the overall population of the yellow-breasted macaw is not yet endangered. However, the population is declining sharply almost everywhere. The reasons for this are the constant destruction of its habitat on the one hand, and illegal hunting and trade in the animals on the other. Due to its ability to imitate human speech and its characteristic appearance, it is very popular with cage bird keepers.