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Neotropical Parrots
The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and (formerly) the southern United States. Among them are some of the most familiar and iconic parrots, including the blue and gold macaw, sun conure, and yellow-headed amazon. The parrots of the New World have been known to Europeans since Columbus remarked upon them in his journal in 1492. Systematic descriptions of the birds were first available in German naturalist Georg Marcgraf's ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae'' published in 1648, and English naturalist Mark Catesby's two-volume ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'' published in London in 1731 and 1743. Several species and one genus have become extinct in recent centuries. A second genus is extinct in the wild. Over a third of the extant species are classified as threatened by the IUCN. A few of these are in imminent danger of extinction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. It inhabits forest (especially varzea, but also in open sections of ''terra firme'' or unflooded forest), woodland and savannah of tropical South America. They are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans. They can also live for 65–70 years. Taxonomy The blue-and-yellow macaw was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus ''Psittacus'' and coined the binomial name ''Psittacus ararauna''. This macaw is now one of the eight extant species placed in the genus ''Ara' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
