Ara Ararauna
Class: Birds
Order: Psittasiformes
Family: Psittacidae
Length: 80cm
Weight: 1.3kg
Longevity: 90 years
Description:
It measures 90 cm long and weighs 1.3 kg. Turquoise blue upperparts, golden yellow underparts. Blue-green forehead and crown. Bluish yellow undertail. Black collar under the face. Bare white cheeks, marked with a few streaks of black feathers. Yellow eyes, black beak and legs. Smaller female.
Habitat:
Blue macaws are mainly present in Central and South America: from Panama to northern Paraguay as well as in Guyana. Still quite common in certain regions. Forests, savannahs, open areas, marshes and watersides. In pairs or in bands. Pairs remain formed within the bands, even in flight. They nest in holes in dry palm trees.
Reproduction:
The laying is of 2 or 3 eggs, the incubation lasts 25 to 28 days. The young leave the nest at about 3 months.
Diet:
Granivore, frugivore.
Captivity:
They are very affectionate and very intelligent birds that learn to imitate and speak extraordinarily well. Many young are found in captivity, but it sometimes takes years for a couple to start a family.
It is advisable to install a nest box of 55 by 55 and 85 cm, with a flight hole of 17 cm in diameter, made of thick wood (4 cm). Each couple should have a nest box throughout the year, because the birds like to sleep there.
They can be extremely protective and therefore aggressive towards their owner during reproduction. They are superb, but require a large cage, an aviary being even better.