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Mini Portrait: Scarlet Macaw

A Southern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. macao) in majestic flight is an impressive sight. Here you can really see that it maneuvers fantastically and often flies very high and also soars across the sky. Some aviculturists once in a while give their tamed pet birds the opportunity to take a proper flight in large, open areas, but this is something you have to gradually get the bird used to if you want to be sure of getting your bird back.

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is by many aviculturists considered as perhaps the most beautiful of all the large parrot species. The magnificent colour pattern of its plumage is nothing else than impressive, and the alternative species name, Arakanga, further emphasizes that it is a most imposing representative from the world of birds.


The Scarlet Macaw was already described by Carl von Linné more than 200 years ago, and it has since become one of the most well-described Macaw species in the wild. Over the years, scientists have been aware that there can be significant differences between the birds that Linné used for the scientific type description (all of which most likely came from a certain area in South America, namely Brazil) and birds that come from other places. Likewise, certain aviculturists have over the years been aware that the differences between birds belonging to this species could perhaps be attributed to their place of origin.


Until the end of 1994, The Scarlet Macaw was considered a monotypic species with a large species variance, but in November of the same year, the American scientist/ornithologist, David A. Wiedenfeld (Ph.D.), at that time under the auspices of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, U.S.A, published a scientific article documenting the existence of a subspecies, namely the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao cyanopterus). David A. Wiedenfeld was scientifically credited with this discovery in 1995, and it should be noted that he has previously made a name for himself by conducting studies on the rare Thick-billed Parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) as well as on CITES-related issues. In his article, David A. Wiedenfeld states that the Scarlet Macaws of northern Central America (from Mexico down through Nicaragua) differ from those that occur from Costa Rica all the way south into much of South America. The northern form is the "new" subspecies, the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao cyanopterus), which differs from the common Scarlet Macaw, hereafter the Southern Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao macao) - also referred to as the nominate form, by having yellow wing coverts with blue, mind you without any kind of (larger or smaller) green "ribbon" that separates the yellow area of the feathers from the blue edges. In addition, the subspecies is larger and more heavily built than the South American nominate form. In particular, its beak is larger, just as the wing length often can be significantly larger.

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is significantly more slenderly built than the Green-winged Macaw/ Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus), and a larger percentage of the bird's length, which can be up to 95 cm, is made up of the tail.

If you generally talk about the Scarlet Macaw in the wild, it has an extremely large distribution area, which is estimated to be as much as 10,200,000 km2, and i.a. for this reason, according to BirdLife International, it is not immediately threatened with extinction, although the trend for the natural population is decreasing. It is worth noting, however, that BirdLife International does not distinguish between the nominate form and subspecies as far as the Scarlet Macaw is concerned either. Via "Partners in Flight", the natural population is estimated to be fewer than 50,000 individuals, which is why BirdLife International has placed the Scarlet Macaw in the threat category "Least Concern". However, BirdLife International states that the Scarlet Macaw's suitable habitats over the next 3 generations (almost 40 years) may risk disappearing primarily as a result of intensive deforestation. But overall, it is assessed that as a result of, among other things, adaptability of this species, then the natural population will "only" be reduced by less than 25 % in the same period.


In sharp contrast to the above are David A. Wiedenfeld's extensive observations, which suggest that the subspecies, the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus), is in danger of extinction. Although the Northern Scarlet Macaw has previously been widely distributed in southern Mexico and northern Central America, it has been reduced to a limited number of birds in isolated populations, which means that the long-term survival of the subspecies is at risk, not least as a result of the danger of degeneration. The Northern Scarlet Macaw is reported to have been almost completely extirpated from the Pacific slope in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador (where it became extinct several decades ago), Honduras and Nicaragua. However, there should be a small residual population on the Peninsula of Cosigüina in Nicaragua. On the Caribbean slope, it only occurs in Selva Lacandona in Mexico, in the forests of southwestern Belize, in the southwestern Petén region of Guatemala, northeastern Honduras, and eastern Nicaragua. David A. Wiedenfeld states that if one extrapolates from the estimated population of the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) in the Mosquitia area of Honduras, then the population of Scarlet Macaws in Central America is probably estimated to be around 5,000 birds, consisting of both nominate form and subspecies, of which 4,000 are estimated to be the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus). It is also assumed that gene flow ("mixing") takes place between the Southern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. macao) and the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus) in a zone that runs from southern Nicaragua to the northern part of Costa Rica (cf. however the article: "EXITING GENETIC NEWS ABOUT THE SCARLET MACAW (ARA MACAO)", elsewhere on www.birdkeeper.dk.

In this photo of a Southern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. macao) you can see the completely fantastic colour pattern of the plumage, which is hardly seen more impressively among the large Macaws. The species is also called Arakanga, and this species name emphasizes that it is an imposing bird.

In nearly every one of the 50 or so villages of all sizes that David A. Wiedenfeld visited in the Mosquitia region of Honduras in connection with his research that led to the recognition of the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus) as an independent subspecies, he could ascertain that at least one household kept this bird as a pet. He also encountered these birds in many other places in Honduras, including in hotel backyards, in restaurants, and in many private homes. On the other hand, he never found the bird on markets, but as you know, it is also covered by CITES, list I. However, it is a fact that it is sought after not least as a result of local trade.


Protection of the subspecies in the wild is considered to be best done by protecting its remaining habitats in Central America and by reducing the internal market for pets in these countries as well as international trade in general. Many Scarlet Macaws, including more than 400 Northern Scarlet Macaws (Ara m. cyanopterus), were imported to especially Western countries between 1976 and 1986.


In the area of distribution, you typically find the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus) at an altitude of less than 400 meters above sea level from southern Mexico through the whole of Belize, south through Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, to central Nicaragua.


Quite remarkably, unlike the nominate form, the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus) seems to appear more commonly in open habitats in Central America. In Honduras and Nicaragua, however, it is also found in tall evergreen tropical forest, but it is more common in lowland forest along rivers or wetlands, in savannahs with pine trees and in low-lying mountain areas with different types of trees such as pines and broadleaf trees.

The bare whitish facial area of the Southern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. macao) differs a great deal from the other large species among the big Macaws species, e.g. Blue-and-yellow Macaw/Blue and Gold Macaw (Ara ararauna), Green-winged Macaw/Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus), and Buffon's Macaw/Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus), by lacking the distinct brush feathers which draws a fine pattern under the eyes on the whitish face background. In this way, the Scarlet Macaw's face in general appear more bright.

Information about the Northern Scarlet Macaw's breeding behavior in nature is scarce, but in this context, it also seems to resemble the general behavior of the nominate form and other large Macaw species. Its nests are found in hollows in trees up to 10 - 16 meters high, and also in extinct trees.


If we are to preserve the relatively few specimens of the Northern Scarlet Macaw that we have today in human care (read: captivity), it requires that serious breeders carry out targeted breeding, where the subspecies is kept physically strictly separated from the nominate form. Only that can contribute to the preservation of this fantastically beautiful subspecies.

Here is an impressive specimen of the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus), which is a relatively recently recognized subspecies compared to the Southern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. macao). The subspecies is above all characterized by being a larger and more heavily built bird, in addition to which the yellow wing-coverts largely does not contain green cover feathers in whole or in part.

As a youngster, I came across a beautiful Southern Scarlet Macaw (at that time only the nominate form was known, and this bird had many green feathers on its wings) at a pet shop in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It was at that time possible to purchase such a bird for only DKK 1,500 (equal to 200 Euro now a days) in Denmark. This Macaw had a sad history as it previously had been sitting as a domestic single bird, but it was definitely not completely tame. In an idiotic attempt to try to get the bird to “obey", the previous owner, according to the shop owner from whom I bought the bird, had beaten it regularly with an iron pipe. This had naturally made the bird very distrustful of humans, but I was disposed to offer it other and better terms. Not even calm and loving handling of the bird over the next few years or the company of other Macaws made this bird change character. Unfortunately, I never managed to gain its trust, it remained shy and aggressive towards people.

 

 

Jorgen Petersen



Conceived/Updated: 31.10.2012 / 11.01.2024 


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Here you can see the Northern Scarlet Macaw (Ara m. cyanopterus), where you can clearly see the absence of the green wing coverts, whereby this subspecies stands out with a more sharply defined – clean – colour pattern than the nominate form. This photo was first published on www.flickr.com, but is also shown under an open license at http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Scarlet_Macaw_(Ara_macao)_-raising_leg.jpg