The red-fronted macaw (''Ara rubrogenys'') is a
parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to a small semi-desert mountainous area of
Bolivia. It is a
critically endangered species; it has been successfully bred in captivity, and is available, if not common, as a pet. It is also sometimes known in the literature as Lafresnaye's macaw, named for the French ornithologist
Frédéric de Lafresnaye
Baron Nöel Frédéric Armand André de Lafresnaye (24 July 1783 – 14 July 1861) was a French ornithologist and collector.
Lafresnaye was born into an aristocratic family at Chateau de La Fresnaye in Falaise, Normandy. He took an early inte ...
, who was one of the first to describe the species.
Description
The red-fronted macaw is long. It is mostly green, and has a red forehead, a red patch over the ears and bright red to orange edged under wing coverts. It has an area of pinkish skin around the eyes extending to the beak. It has red at the bend of wings and blue primary wing feathers.
Range and habitat
The red-fronted macaw is native to a small mountainous area of south-central
Bolivia situated about 200 km west of
Santa Cruz, in the department of the same name, where the climate is medium altitude semi-desert. The natural vegetation consists mostly of
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
(large and small) and
thorny tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s and scrub. The
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
is semi
arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...
with cold nights and hot days. Rain comes in infrequent heavy storms. It is unusual in that it is the only macaw to inhabit such a climatic zone. Most macaws nest in holes in large trees, however here there are no very large trees in its range so it nests in vertical
fissures
A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes.
Ground fissure
...
in cliff faces.
The bird has been captured for the pet trade in the past and killed by local farmers because it raids their crops.
Gallery
Image:Ara rubrogenys -Jurong BirdPark-8.jpg, Upper body
Image:Ara rubrogenys -head-6.jpg, Head
Image:Ara rubrogenys -20030516.jpg, Side – Jurong BirdPark
Jurong Bird Park is an aviary and tourist attraction in Jurong, Singapore. The largest such bird park in Asia, it covers an area of on the western slope of Jurong Hill, the highest point in the Jurong region. It is one of the parks managed by ...
, Singapore
File:Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys) -on branch-3cp.jpg, Wing clipped
File:Ara rubrogenys -Zoo de Doué-la-fontaine-8a-2c.jpg, In the air
File:Ara rubrogenys -Doué la Fontaine zoo-flying-8a.jpg, Flying
References
External links
Red-fronted macaw videoson the Internet Bird Collection
(for
Bolivia)
Red-fronted macaw photo galleryVIREO
Wild macaws (Bolivia section)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q838951
red-fronted macaw
Birds of the Bolivian Andes
Endemic birds of Bolivia
red-fronted macaw
Taxa named by Frédéric de Lafresnaye