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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
{{speciesbox
| name = Red-bellied macaw
| name = Red-bellied macaw
Line 5: Line 6:
| status = LC
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{IUCN|id=22685585 |title=''Orthopsittaca manilatus'' |assessor=BirdLife International |assessor-link=BirdLife International |version=2013.2 |year=2012 |accessdate=26 November 2013}}</ref>
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Orthopsittaca manilatus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22685585A93081095 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22685585A93081095.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Orthopsittaca
| genus = Orthopsittaca
| parent_authority = [[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]], 1912
| parent_authority = [[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]], 1912
Line 11: Line 12:
| authority = ([[Pieter Boddaert|Boddaert]], 1783)
| authority = ([[Pieter Boddaert|Boddaert]], 1783)
| synonyms = ''Orthopsittaca manilata''
| synonyms = ''Orthopsittaca manilata''
|display_parents= 2
| range_map = Orthopsittaca manilatus map.svg

}}
}}


The '''red-bellied macaw''' (''Orthopsittaca manilatus''), also known as ''Guacamaya Manilata'', is a medium-sized, mostly green South American [[parrot]], a member of a group of large [[Neotropical parrots]] known as [[macaws]]. It is the largest of what are commonly called "[[mini-macaw]]s". The belly has a large maroon patch which gives the species its name.
The '''red-bellied macaw''' ('''''Orthopsittaca manilatus'''''), also known as ''Guacamaya Manilata'', is a medium-sized, mostly green [[parrot]], a member of a group of large [[Neotropical parrots]] known as [[macaws]]. It is the largest of what are commonly called "[[mini-macaw]]s". The belly has a large maroon patch which gives the species its name.


It is endemic to tropical [[Amazon Basin|Amazon]]ian [[South America]], from [[Colombia]] and [[Trinidad]] south to Amazonian [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]], and central [[Brazil]] as far as the northwestern [[cerrado]]. Its habitat is [[Moriche palm|moriche]] (or buriti) palm (''Mauritia flexuosa'') swamp forests and sandy savannahs with palm groves. They are critically dependent on the Moriche palm for roosting, feeding and nesting. Although the bird is locally common, in places it has been adversely affected by clearing of the palms for use as posts, or to allow cattle ranching; also by capture for the [[cagebird trade|pet trade.]]
It is endemic to tropical [[Amazon Basin|Amazon]]ian [[South America]] (as well as the [[Caribbean]] island of [[Trinidad]]), from [[Colombia]] south to Amazonian [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]], and central [[Brazil]] as far as the northwestern [[cerrado]]. Its habitat is [[Moriche palm|moriche]] (or buriti) palm (''Mauritia flexuosa'') swamp forests and sandy savannahs with palm groves. They are critically dependent on the Moriche palm for roosting, feeding and nesting. Although the bird is locally common, in places it has been adversely affected by clearing of the palms for use as posts, or to allow cattle ranching; also by capture for the [[cagebird trade|pet trade.]]


Not to be confused with the African [[red-bellied parrot]] (''Poicephalus rufiventris''), a similarly named smaller parrot.
Not to be confused with the African [[red-bellied parrot]] (''Poicephalus rufiventris''), a similarly named smaller parrot.


==Taxonomy==
==Taxonomy==
The red-bellied macaw was described by the French polymath [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]] in 1780 in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux'' from a specimen collected in [[Cayenne]], [[French Guiana]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Buffon | first=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | year=1780 | title=Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux | volume=Volume 11 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | pages=387–388 | chapter=La perriche-ara | language=French | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42410326 }}</ref> The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by [[François-Nicolas Martinet]] in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle'' which was produced under the supervision of [[Edme-Louis Daubenton]] to accompany Buffon's text.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Buffon | first1=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author1-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | last2=Martinet | first2=François-Nicolas | author2-link=François-Nicolas Martinet | last3=Daubenton | first3=Edme-Louis | author3-link=Edme-Louis Daubenton | last4=Daubenton | first4=Louis-Jean-Marie | author4-link=Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton | year=1765–1783 | chapter=La perruche-ara, de Cayenne | title=Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle | volume=Volume 9 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | at=Plate 864 | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35224631 }}</ref> Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist [[Pieter Boddaert]] coined the [[binomial name]] ''Psittacus manilatus'' in his catalogue of the ''Planches Enluminées''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Boddaert | first=Pieter | author-link=Pieter Boddaert | year=1783 | title=Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés | publisher= | place=Utrecht | page=52, Number 864 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27822672 | language=French }}</ref> The red-bellied macaw is now the only species placed in the [[genus]] ''Orthopsittaca'' that was introduced by the American ornithologist [[Robert Ridgway]] in 1912.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Ridgway | first=Robert | author-link=Robert Ridgway | year=1912 | title=Diagnoses of some new genera of American birds | journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington | volume=25 | pages=97-102 [99] | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3337656 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Parrots, cockatoos | work=World Bird List Version 9.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/parrots/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=11 August 2019 }}</ref> The species is [[monotypic]].<ref name=ioc/> The generic name combines the [[Ancient Greek]] ''orthos'' meaning "straight" and ''psittakē'' meaning "parrot". The specific epithet combines the Latin ''manus'' meaning "hand" and ''latus'' meaning "broad" or "wide".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=240, 285 }}</ref>
The red-bellied macaw was described by the French polymath [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]] in 1780 in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux'' from a specimen collected in [[Cayenne]], [[French Guiana]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Buffon | first=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | year=1780 | title=Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux | volume=11 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | pages=387–388 | chapter=La perriche-ara | language=fr | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42410326 }}</ref> The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by [[François-Nicolas Martinet]] in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle'' which was produced under the supervision of [[Edme-Louis Daubenton]] to accompany Buffon's text.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Buffon | first1=Georges-Louis Leclerc de | author1-link=Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon | last2=Martinet | first2=François-Nicolas | author2-link=François-Nicolas Martinet | last3=Daubenton | first3=Edme-Louis | author3-link=Edme-Louis Daubenton | last4=Daubenton | first4=Louis-Jean-Marie | author4-link=Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton | year=1765–1783 | chapter=La perruche-ara, de Cayenne | title=Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle | volume=9 | place=Paris | publisher=De L'Imprimerie Royale | at=Plate 864 | chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35224631 }}</ref> Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist [[Pieter Boddaert]] coined the [[binomial name]] ''Psittacus manilatus'' in his catalogue of the ''Planches Enluminées''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Boddaert | first=Pieter | author-link=Pieter Boddaert | year=1783 | title=Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés | place=Utrecht | page=52, Number 864 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27822672 | language=fr }}</ref> The red-bellied macaw is now the only species placed in the [[genus]] ''Orthopsittaca'' that was introduced by the American ornithologist [[Robert Ridgway]] in 1912.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Ridgway | first=Robert | author-link=Robert Ridgway | year=1912 | title=Diagnoses of some new genera of American birds | journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington | volume=25 | pages=97–102 [99] | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3337656 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Parrots, cockatoos | work=World Bird List Version 9.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/parrots/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=11 August 2019 }}</ref> The species is [[monotypic]].<ref name=ioc/> The generic name combines the [[Ancient Greek]] ''orthos'' meaning "straight" and ''psittakē'' meaning "parrot". The specific epithet combines the Latin ''manus'' meaning "hand" and ''latus'' meaning "broad" or "wide".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n240 240], 285 }}</ref>
⚫
[[File:Orthopsittaca manilata -girl with parrot on shoulder-8a-4c.jpg|left|thumb|A pet juvenile in [[Peru]]]]


==Description==
==Description==
[[File:Orthopsittaca manilatus, stuffed specimens Berlin 63.jpg|thumb|A [[Taxidermy|taxidermied]] red-bellied macaw, with the maroon patch on the lower abdomen visible]]
The red-bellied macaw is medium-sized, about {{convert|300|g|oz|abbr=on}} in weight and about {{convert|46|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length including its long pointed tail. The plumage is mostly green; the [[cere]] and much of the face are covered with bare mustard-yellow skin, and the irises are dark brown. The forehead is bluish. The chin, throat and upper chest are greyish with some green scalloping, and the lower abdomen ("belly") has a large maroon patch. The tail is long and tapered. The underwings and undertail are dull olive yellow. Adults have dark-grey beaks. The legs and feet are dark grey. In common with other parrots, they have [[zygodactyl]] feet, two toes pointing forward and two backward. Males and females have identical plumage, but males are usually larger and have larger heads. Juveniles are duller in colour than adults and have a grey beak with a conspicuous white mid-line stripe running along the length of the [[culmen (bird)|culmen]] (top of the upper beak).<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 73.">Forshaw (2006). plate 73.</ref> The [[Spix's macaw]] is the only other macaw in which juveniles have a similar white culmen.
The red-bellied macaw is medium-sized, about {{convert|300|g|oz|abbr=on}} in weight and about {{convert|46|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length including its long pointed tail. The plumage is mostly green; the [[cere]] and much of the face are covered with bare mustard-yellow skin, and the irises are dark brown. The forehead is bluish. The chin, throat and upper chest are greyish with some green scalloping, and the lower abdomen ("belly") has a large maroon patch. The tail is long and tapered. The underwings and undertail are dull olive yellow. Adults have dark-grey beaks. The legs and feet are dark grey. In common with other parrots, they have [[zygodactyl]] feet, two toes pointing forward and two backward. Males and females have identical plumage, but males are usually larger and have larger heads. Juveniles are duller in colour than adults and have a grey beak with a conspicuous white mid-line stripe running along the length of the [[culmen (bird)|culmen]] (top of the upper beak).<ref name="Forshaw (2006). plate 73.">Forshaw (2006). plate 73.</ref> The [[Spix's macaw]] is the only other macaw in which juveniles have a similar white culmen.


==Distribution and habitat==
==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Orthopsittaca manilata -Amerindian Reservation of Santa Mission, Guyana -two flying-8.jpg|right|thumb|Two flying in Guyana]]
[[File:Orthopsittaca manilata -Amerindian Reservation of Santa Mission, Guyana -two flying-8.jpg|right|thumb|Two flying in Guyana]]
The red-bellied macaw has an extremely large range throughout the Amazon Basin of the [[North Region, Brazil]], except in the northwest quadrant centered on a large region of the [[Rio Negro (Amazon)|Rio Negro]] flowing from Colombia-Venezuela. It ranges through the [[Guianas]] including the [[Guiana Shield|Guiana Highlands]] into eastern Venezuela, the lower [[Orinoco River]] Basin and across to the island of [[Trinidad]].
The red-bellied macaw has an extremely large range throughout the Amazon Basin of the [[North Region, Brazil]], except in the northwest quadrant centered on a large region of the [[Rio Negro (Amazon)|Rio Negro]] flowing from Colombia-Venezuela. It ranges through the [[Guianas]] including the [[Guiana Shield|Guiana Highlands]] into eastern Venezuela, the lower [[Orinoco River]] Basin and across to the island of Trinidad.

⚫
Its southern limit in Brazil is the south-central and northwestern [[cerrado]] bordering the [[Amazon Basin]].<!--see the RangeMap at: "www.natureserve.org"-->


⚫
Its southern limit in Brazil is the south-central and northwestern [[cerrado]] bordering the [[Amazon Basin]].
==Behaviour==
==Behaviour==
Red-bellied macaws make reedy, high-pitched screams. They roost communally in the moriche palms, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk; (see [[crepuscular]]). They choose large stands of these palms that have an overabundance of woodpecker holes as roosting sites. They sleep communally in these groups of hollows. Depending on the size of the hollow, between five and 10 birds sleep together. As dusk approaches, they all pile into these dormitories and sleep shoulder to shoulder.
Red-bellied macaws make reedy, high-pitched screams. They roost communally in the moriche palms, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk; (see [[crepuscular]]). They choose large stands of these palms that have an overabundance of woodpecker holes as roosting sites. They sleep communally in these groups of hollows. Depending on the size of the hollow, between five and 10 birds sleep together. As dusk approaches, they all pile into these dormitories and sleep shoulder to shoulder.


===Breeding===
===Breeding===
Red-bellied macaws nest in cavities of dead moriche palm trees. There are usually two to four white eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days, and the chicks [[fledge]] from the nest about 77 days after hatching.<ref name = "DA 2003">{{cite book |first = David| last = Alderton | authorlink=David Alderton | title = The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds | isbn = 1-84309-164-X| publisher = Hermes House |location = London, England | year = 2003 |page= 237}}</ref> Juveniles reach sexual maturity in 2–3 years.
Red-bellied macaws nest in cavities of dead moriche palm trees. There are usually two to four white eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days, and the chicks [[fledge]] from the nest about 77 days after hatching.<ref name = "DA 2003">{{cite book |first = David| last = Alderton | author-link=David Alderton | title = The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds | isbn = 1-84309-164-X| publisher = Hermes House |location = London, England | year = 2003 |page= 237}}</ref> Juveniles reach sexual maturity in 2–3 years.


===Food and feeding===
===Food and feeding===
Their diet consists almost exclusively of the fruit and seeds of moriche palm, which are 100% carbohydrate, 0% fat{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} and very high in Beta-carotene.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of the fruit and seeds of the [[Mauritia flexuosa|moriche palm]] and the [[Roystonea oleracea|Caribbean royal palm]] (in Trinidad),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Orthopsittaca_manilata%20-%20Red-bellied%20Macaw.pdf|title=Orthopsittaca manilata (Red-bellied Macaw) |website=Sta.uwi.edu|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> which are 100% carbohydrate, 0% fat{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} and very high in beta-carotene.


==Conservation status==
==Conservation status==
Red-bellied macaws are listed as "least concern" by the [[IUCN]]. Population numbers have not been estimated, but wild populations seem to be declining.<ref name=IUCN/>
Red-bellied macaws are listed as "least concern" by the [[IUCN]]. Population numbers have not been estimated, but wild populations seem to be declining.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />


==Aviculture==
==Aviculture==
⚫
[[File:Orthopsittaca manilata -girl with parrot on shoulder-8a-4c.jpg|thumb|A pet juvenile in [[Peru]]]]
{{unsourced section|date=May 2018}}
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2018}}
It is extremely difficult keep these birds alive in captivity, because of their high strung personality, and low fat and high carbohydrate diet. Export/Import for the pet trade often results in 100% mortality. Captive-bred chicks have a low survival rate.
It is extremely difficult keep these birds alive in captivity, because of their high strung personality, and low fat and high carbohydrate diet. Export/Import for the pet trade often results in 100% mortality. Captive-bred chicks have a low survival rate.


The only country to export these birds in recent years is Guyana.
The only country to export these birds in recent years is Guyana.


Because of lack of commercial availability of moriche palm nuts, shelled unsalted peanuts have been used as a staple in the diet of captive birds. They must not be fed commercial bird seed, especially fatty seed like Sunflower.
Because of lack of commercial availability of moriche palm nuts, shelled unsalted peanuts have been used as a staple in the diet of captive birds. They should not be fed commercial bird seed, especially fatty seed like Sunflower.

The parrot breeder, Howard Voren, successfully devised feeding and housing methods which would keep wild-caught red-bellied macaws alive in captivity, after observing the parrots' wild behaviors in Guyana. However, he decided to keep his method a secret for many years, as he did not wish to be responsible for restarting the trade in wild-caught macaws from the area, which previous to this had significantly reduced due to the high mortality rates, and therefore lack of commercial viability of trade in the species.<ref name="voren">{{cite web |last1=Voren |first1=Howard |title=The Mysterious Macaw (The Unique Red-Bellied Macaws) |url=http://www.voren.com/articles/the-mysterious-macaw-the-unique-red-bellied-macaws/|website=Voren.com|date=4 June 2009 |access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 75: Line 81:


==Cited texts==
==Cited texts==
* {{Cite book |first=Joseph M. |last=Forshaw | authorlink=Joseph Forshaw |title=Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide|others =Illustrated by [[Frank Knight (artist)|Frank Knight]]|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-09251-6 |page= |nopp = yes| year=2006 }}
* {{Cite book |first=Joseph M. |last=Forshaw |author-link=Joseph Forshaw |title=Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide |others=Illustrated by [[Frank Knight (artist)|Frank Knight]] |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-09251-6 |year=2006 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/parrotsofworldid0000fors }}


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Orthopsittaca manilatus}}
{{Commons category|Orthopsittaca manilatus}}
*[http://www.longosaviaries.com/?page=article11 Captive Reproduction of the Peculiar Red-bellied Macaw]
*[http://www.longosaviaries.com/?page=article11 Captive Reproduction of the Peculiar Red-bellied Macaw]
*[http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=2242 Red-bellied Macaw videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
*[https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/rebmac2/cur/introduction Red-bellied Macaw videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
*[http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=red-bellied+macaw&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Red-bellied Macaw photo gallery] VIREO-(includes picture of "Lick") [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Orthopsittaca+manilata Photo-High Res]
*[http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=red-bellied+macaw&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Red-bellied Macaw photo gallery] VIREO-(includes picture of "Lick")
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVa_BiIn5Zo Video 1 depicting a pet Red-bellied Macaw]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVa_BiIn5Zo Video 1 depicting a pet Red-bellied Macaw]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_v2zHEJoc Video 2 depicting a pet Red-bellied Macaw]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_v2zHEJoc Video 2 depicting a pet Red-bellied Macaw]
Line 87: Line 93:


{{Macaws}}
{{Macaws}}
{{Psittacopasseres|Ps.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q177191}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q177191}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:macaw, red-bellied}}
[[Category:Arini (tribe)|red-bellied macaw]]
[[Category:Arini|red-bellied macaw]]
[[Category:Macaws|red-bellied macaw]]
[[Category:Macaws|red-bellied macaw]]
[[Category:Birds of Brazil]]
[[Category:Birds of Brazil]]
[[Category:Birds of the Amazon Basin]]
[[Category:Birds of the Amazon rainforest]]
[[Category:Birds of the Guianas]]
[[Category:Birds of the Guiana Shield]]
[[Category:Birds of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Birds of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1783|red-bellied macaw]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1783|red-bellied macaw]]

Latest revision as of 10:56, 11 May 2024

Red-bellied macaw
In Goiânia, Brazil
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Arini
Genus: Orthopsittaca
Ridgway, 1912
Species:
O. manilatus
Binomial name
Orthopsittaca manilatus
(Boddaert, 1783)
Synonyms

Orthopsittaca manilata

The red-bellied macaw (Orthopsittaca manilatus), also known as Guacamaya Manilata, is a medium-sized, mostly green parrot, a member of a group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It is the largest of what are commonly called "mini-macaws". The belly has a large maroon patch which gives the species its name.

It is endemic to tropical Amazonian South America (as well as the Caribbean island of Trinidad), from Colombia south to Amazonian Peru and Bolivia, and central Brazil as far as the northwestern cerrado. Its habitat is moriche (or buriti) palm (Mauritia flexuosa) swamp forests and sandy savannahs with palm groves. They are critically dependent on the Moriche palm for roosting, feeding and nesting. Although the bird is locally common, in places it has been adversely affected by clearing of the palms for use as posts, or to allow cattle ranching; also by capture for the pet trade.

Not to be confused with the African red-bellied parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris), a similarly named smaller parrot.

Taxonomy

[edit]

The red-bellied macaw was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana.[2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.[3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Psittacus manilatus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.[4] The red-bellied macaw is now the only species placed in the genus Orthopsittaca that was introduced by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway in 1912.[5][6] The species is monotypic.[6] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek orthos meaning "straight" and psittakē meaning "parrot". The specific epithet combines the Latin manus meaning "hand" and latus meaning "broad" or "wide".[7]

Description

[edit]
A taxidermied red-bellied macaw, with the maroon patch on the lower abdomen visible

The red-bellied macaw is medium-sized, about 300 g (11 oz) in weight and about 46 cm (18 in) in length including its long pointed tail. The plumage is mostly green; the cere and much of the face are covered with bare mustard-yellow skin, and the irises are dark brown. The forehead is bluish. The chin, throat and upper chest are greyish with some green scalloping, and the lower abdomen ("belly") has a large maroon patch. The tail is long and tapered. The underwings and undertail are dull olive yellow. Adults have dark-grey beaks. The legs and feet are dark grey. In common with other parrots, they have zygodactyl feet, two toes pointing forward and two backward. Males and females have identical plumage, but males are usually larger and have larger heads. Juveniles are duller in colour than adults and have a grey beak with a conspicuous white mid-line stripe running along the length of the culmen (top of the upper beak).[8] The Spix's macaw is the only other macaw in which juveniles have a similar white culmen.

Distribution and habitat

[edit]
Two flying in Guyana

The red-bellied macaw has an extremely large range throughout the Amazon Basin of the North Region, Brazil, except in the northwest quadrant centered on a large region of the Rio Negro flowing from Colombia-Venezuela. It ranges through the Guianas including the Guiana Highlands into eastern Venezuela, the lower Orinoco River Basin and across to the island of Trinidad.

Its southern limit in Brazil is the south-central and northwestern cerrado bordering the Amazon Basin.

Behaviour

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Red-bellied macaws make reedy, high-pitched screams. They roost communally in the moriche palms, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk; (see crepuscular). They choose large stands of these palms that have an overabundance of woodpecker holes as roosting sites. They sleep communally in these groups of hollows. Depending on the size of the hollow, between five and 10 birds sleep together. As dusk approaches, they all pile into these dormitories and sleep shoulder to shoulder.

Breeding

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Red-bellied macaws nest in cavities of dead moriche palm trees. There are usually two to four white eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 77 days after hatching.[9] Juveniles reach sexual maturity in 2–3 years.

Food and feeding

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Their diet consists almost exclusively of the fruit and seeds of the moriche palm and the Caribbean royal palm (in Trinidad),[10] which are 100% carbohydrate, 0% fat[citation needed] and very high in beta-carotene.

Conservation status

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Red-bellied macaws are listed as "least concern" by the IUCN. Population numbers have not been estimated, but wild populations seem to be declining.[1]

Aviculture

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A pet juvenile in Peru

It is extremely difficult keep these birds alive in captivity, because of their high strung personality, and low fat and high carbohydrate diet. Export/Import for the pet trade often results in 100% mortality. Captive-bred chicks have a low survival rate.

The only country to export these birds in recent years is Guyana.

Because of lack of commercial availability of moriche palm nuts, shelled unsalted peanuts have been used as a staple in the diet of captive birds. They should not be fed commercial bird seed, especially fatty seed like Sunflower.

The parrot breeder, Howard Voren, successfully devised feeding and housing methods which would keep wild-caught red-bellied macaws alive in captivity, after observing the parrots' wild behaviors in Guyana. However, he decided to keep his method a secret for many years, as he did not wish to be responsible for restarting the trade in wild-caught macaws from the area, which previous to this had significantly reduced due to the high mortality rates, and therefore lack of commercial viability of trade in the species.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Orthopsittaca manilatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22685585A93081095. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22685585A93081095.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1780). "La perriche-ara". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 11. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. pp. 387–388.
  3. ^ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "La perruche-ara, de Cayenne". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 9. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 864.
  4. ^ Boddaert, Pieter (1783). Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés (in French). Utrecht. p. 52, Number 864.
  5. ^ Ridgway, Robert (1912). "Diagnoses of some new genera of American birds". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 25: 97–102 [99].
  6. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Parrots, cockatoos". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  7. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 240, 285. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. ^ Forshaw (2006). plate 73.
  9. ^ Alderton, David (2003). The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds. London, England: Hermes House. p. 237. ISBN 1-84309-164-X.
  10. ^ "Orthopsittaca manilata (Red-bellied Macaw)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  11. ^ Voren, Howard (4 June 2009). "The Mysterious Macaw (The Unique Red-Bellied Macaws)". Voren.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.

Cited texts

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