Chestnut-fronted Macaw

Habitat

Chestnut-fronted macaws are mainly found in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. They live in a variety of habitats, including secondary forests, swamps, flooded forests, and humid lowland forests.

National Parks

Darién National Park

Physical Description

Chestnut-fronted macaws are green and have patches of blue and red on their wings. Their face is white, with a patch of chestnut brown directly above their black beak. This plumage gives them excellent camouflage within arboreal environments.

Interesting Biology

Chestnut-fronted macaws can live 40 years or more. The bird’s main predators are boa constrictors and humans.

The birds build nests in trees near water and lay 2 to 4 eggs at a time. The incubation period is 23 to 26 days, and the fledglings learn to fly after about 3 months.

During breeding season the birds are usually seen flying in pairs, but at other points in the year they will fly in small groups.

Chestnut-fronted macaws are often used as pets because they are small, quick learners, and highly adaptable. They are, however, quite noisy.

Chestnut-fronted macaws are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Diet

The birds primarily eat seeds, nuts, fruit, berries, and flower buds.

Height/Weight

Chestnut-fronted macaws are 15.6–19 inches tall and weigh 10.7–13.5 ounces. The tail is twice as long as the body.

Brief Taxonomy

Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

Sources

Stotz, D. F.; Fitzpatrick, J. W.; Parker, T. A.; Moskovits, D. K. 1996. Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.