One of the 6 macaws on WAnimals
Birds · Psittaciformes · Psittacidae
Great Green Macaw
Ara ambiguus
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
The great green macaw, or Buffon's macaw, is a psittaciform bird of the parrot family native to the forests of Central America, occurring from eastern Honduras to north-western Colombia together with an isolated population in western Ecuador. It has recently been reclassified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered because of the steep decline in its population through habitat destruction and capture for the pet trade.
Weight
1.2 kg – 1.4 kg
Size
85 cm – 90 cm
Lifespan
29 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Estimated population
Fewer than 1,000 mature individuals
Fun facts
- Its survival depends on a single tree: the mountain almond provides it with both food and nest holes, and the logging of that timber species is the direct cause of its decline.
- In Costa Rica conservation projects pay landowners to leave the almond trees standing and to protect the nests, turning the tree into an economic asset rather than timber.
- A pair needs an enormous territory and breeds only every one or two years, so the species recovers extremely slowly even where logging has stopped.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Humid lowland forest with mountain almond trees, from Honduras to Ecuador
- Sexual maturity
- 5 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 26 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 3 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_ambiguus
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Great Green Macaw — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Least ConcernScarlet Macaw
Ara macao
Yellow-eared Parrot
Ognorhynchus icterotis
Military Macaw
Ara militaris
Least ConcernBlue-And-Yellow Macaw
Ara ararauna
Yellow-Crowned Amazon
Amazona ochrocephala
Santa Marta Parakeet
Pyrrhura viridicata
How to help
The great green macaw is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 3 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about great green macaw.
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