Red-bellied Macaw(Orthopsittaca manilatus)
The red-bellied macaw is medium-sized, about 300 g in weight and about 46 cm 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 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).
Habitat
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.
Diet
Their diet consists almost exclusively of the fruit and seeds of moriche palm, which are 100% carbohydrate, 0% fat and very high in Beta-carotene.
Breeding
Red-bellied macaws nest in cavities of dead moriche palm trees. The breeding season differs by country. 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. Juveniles reach sexual maturity in 2–3 years.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Least Concern(LC). The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as fairly common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.
Threats
Red-bellied Macaw populations depend on Mauritia Palms for feeding and nesting. These trees are heavily used for construction, which may have bad consequences for the future of the species. Red-bellied Macaws are threatened by clearing of these palms and by trapping for pet trade. However, this species is usually common in most part of its range, except in Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela where it is threatened by habitat loss.
Conservation
There are currently no conservation actions for this species.