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43-460: Psittacus macao Linnaeus, 1758 The scarlet macaw ( Ara macao ) is a large yellow, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas . Its range extends from southeastern Mexico to Peru , Ecuador , Colombia , Bolivia , Venezuela , Honduras , and Brazil in lowlands of 500 m (1,600 ft) (at least formerly) up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft),

86-713: A diverse array of indigenous peoples , who to varying degrees persist in their autonomous and traditional cultures and subsistence within this environment. The number of these peoples who are as yet relatively untouched by external influences continues to decline significantly, however, along with the near-exponential expansion of urbanization , roads, pastoralism and forest industries which encroach on their customary lands and environment. Nevertheless, amidst these declining circumstances this vast "reservoir" of human diversity continues to survive, albeit much depleted. In South America alone, some 350–400 indigenous languages and dialects are still living (down from an estimated 1,500 at

129-736: A form of baiting is illegal in some states in the United States, but legal in others. Inadvertent salt licks may lead to unintended wildlife-human interactions. The indigenous peoples of the Americas and the longhunter watched salt licks to hunt game. Many became well-known, including Bledsoe Lick in Sumner County, Tennessee ; the Blue Lick in central Kentucky ; 'Great Buffalo Lick' in Kanawha Salines, now present-day Malden, West Virginia ;

172-503: A market for trade wherein the animals were used in religious rites north to the Colorado Plateau region. Today the scarlet macaw is found worldwide in captivity, but is best represented in captivity in the Americas. Captive techniques developed from the pet trade have positively affected wild populations: in areas with low macaws populations, the "extra" babies that typically die in the nest may be reared by human hands and released into

215-858: A more typical lifespan is 40 to 50 years. A typical sighting is of a single bird or a pair flying above the forest canopy, though in some areas flocks can be seen. They often gather at clay licks . Scarlet macaws communicate primarily through raucous honks; however, vocal communication is highly variable, and captive macaws are known to be adept mimics of human speech. Wild scarlet macaws feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers and nectar. They also love to eat insects and larvae. They are seen feeding heavily on bugs, snails and foliage. Snails and bugs are great source of protein, as they need additional protein during breeding seasons. In Costa Rica's Central Pacific they have learned to feed on introduced Teak trees ( Tectona grandis ) and Almond Beach Trees . Local non-profit organizations have planted hundreds of those trees along

258-445: A taste of needed nutrients. It is thought that certain fauna can detect calcium in salt licks. Many animals regularly visit mineral licks to consume clay , supplementing their diet with nutrients and minerals. In tropical bats, lick visitation is associated with a diet based on wild figs ( Ficus ), which have very low levels of sodium, and licks are mostly used by females that are pregnant or lactating. Some animals require

301-491: A year later. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at five years of age. The scarlet macaw inhabits primarily humid, lowland subtropical rain forests , open woodlands , river edges, and savannas . In some regions, they are known to periodically visit natural mineral deposits (or 'licks'), typically in areas rich in clay and sediment , which the macaws will eat for digestive purposes and to glean vital nutrients, including sodium and calcium . The species' South American range

344-468: Is currently estimated to be between 50,000 and 499,999 individuals. Commercial international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) is prohibited by the bird's listing under CITES Appendix 1 due to poaching for the pet trade. The northern subspecies, A. m. cyanopterus , is listed as endangered by the USFWS . The USFWS estimates that only 2,000–3,000 birds of the northern subspecies remain in

387-611: Is endemic to the Neotropic realm, occupying a larger geographic area than any other piranha species. Some fish groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: Examples of other animal groups that are entirely or mainly restricted to the Neotropical region include: According to Simberloff. as of 1984 there were a total of 92,128 species of flowering plants (Angiosperms) in the Neotropics. Plant families endemic and partly subendemic to

430-638: Is extensive, spanning much of the Amazon basin and rainforest of the northern half of the continent, extending as far south as Peru (east of the Andes ) and Bolivia . In Bolivia, it is quite common in the Aquicuana Reserve , in the northeastern Beni Department (near the city of Riberalta , the capital of the Bolivian Amazon region). In (southern) North and Central America , the species' range extends from

473-702: Is mostly covered by tropical moist broadleaf forest , including the vast Amazon rainforest , which stretches from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the Guianas . The bioregion also includes tropical savanna and tropical dry forest ecoregions. The Central Andes lie between the Gulfs of Guayaquil and Penas and thus encompass southern Ecuador, Chile, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwest and western Argentina. Eastern South America includes

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516-474: Is no evidence to suggest that this population is established and breeding, and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes. These non-native birds are likely sustained off of deliberate feeding by residents who enjoy seeing them in their yards. An introduced population also exists in Puerto Rico . The habitat of scarlet macaws is also considered to have the greatest latitudinal range for any bird in

559-488: Is still understood about the dietary benefits. The paths animals made to natural mineral licks and watering holes became the hunting paths predators and early humans used for hunting. It is hypothesized that these salt and water paths became trails and later roads for early humans. Nonetheless, many studies have identified other uses and nutritional benefits from other micronutrients that exist at these sites, including selenium , cobalt and/or molybdenum . In addition to

602-806: The Caatinga xeric shrublands of northeastern Brazil, the broad Cerrado grasslands and savannas of the Brazilian Plateau , and the Pantanal and Chaco grasslands. The diverse Atlantic forests of eastern Brazil are separated from the forests of Amazonia by the Caatinga and Cerrado, and are home to a distinct flora and fauna. North of the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous fragments) have developed that constitute

645-509: The Caribbean island of Trinidad , as well as the Pacific island of Coiba . Formerly, the northern extent of its range included southern Tamaulipas . In some areas, it has suffered local extinction because of habitat destruction , or capture for the parrot trade , but in other areas, it remains fairly common. It is the national bird of Honduras . Like its relative the blue-and-yellow macaw ,

688-590: The Caribbean Islands , and southern North America. In Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula and southern lowlands, and most of the east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In the United States southern Florida and coastal Central Florida are considered Neotropical. The realm also includes temperate southern South America. In contrast,

731-635: The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event altered local flora and fauna. Much later, about two to three million years ago, South America was joined with North America by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama , which allowed a biotic exchange between the two continents, the Great American Interchange . South American species like the ancestors of the Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana ) and

774-470: The Great American Interchange , an important biogeographical event. The Neotropic includes more tropical rainforest ( tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ) than any other realm, extending from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil, including the vast Amazon rainforest . These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of biodiversity on Earth. These rainforests are also home to

817-788: The Yucatán Peninsula (extreme southeastern Mexico and Belize ) and southward through Guatemala , El Salvador , Honduras and Nicaragua , as well as the island of Coiba . It is seen infrequently on the mainland of Panamá , but is known in Costa Rica from isolated regions on the Pacific coast, mainly near the Nicoya Peninsula , Carara National Park and Peninsula de Osa . In Florida , United States, scarlet macaws have escaped captivity at various times throughout history, either inadvertently due to hurricanes or other inclement weather events, or being deliberately released by humans; however, there

860-547: The armadillo moved into North America, and North Americans like the ancestors of South America's camelids , including the llama ( Lama glama ), moved south. The long-term effect of the exchange was the extinction of many South American species, mostly by outcompetition by northern species. The Neotropical realm has 31 endemic bird families, which is over twice the number of any other realm. They include tanagers , rheas , tinamous , curassows , antbirds , ovenbirds , toucans , and seriemas . Bird families originally unique to

903-568: The biometals ( sodium , calcium , iron , zinc , and trace elements ) required for bone , muscle and other growth in herbivorous mammals such as deer , moose , elephants , hippos , rhinos , giraffes , zebras , wildebeests , tapirs , woodchucks , fox squirrels , mountain goats , porcupines , and frugivorous bats . Such licks are especially important in ecosystems such as tropical rainforests and grasslands with poor general availability of nutrients. Harsh weather exposes salty mineral deposits that draw animals from miles away for

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946-538: The genus Ara , as the estimated maximum territorial range covers 6,700,000 km. Nevertheless, the scarlet macaw's habitat is fragmented, and the bird is mostly confined to tiny populations scattered throughout its original range in Middle America. However, as they still occur in large numbers over most of their original range in South America, the species is classified by IUCN as least concern. Its wild population

989-674: The temperate rain forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregions, and the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands , are a refuge for the ancient Antarctic flora , which includes trees like the southern beech ( Nothofagus ), podocarps , the alerce ( Fitzroya cupressoides ), and Araucaria pines like the monkey-puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ). These rainforests are endangered by extensive logging and their replacement by fast-growing non-native pines and eucalyptus . South America

1032-469: The tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Psittacus macao . The scarlet macaw is now placed in the genus Ara ( Lacépède , 1799), one of 6 genera of Central and South American macaws. The two subspecies can be recognized by size and color detail in the feathers on the wings: In May 2013, it was announced that a team of scientists, led by Dr. Christopher M. Seabury and Dr. Ian Tizard of Texas A&M University had sequenced

1075-584: The Baudo, or Coastal, Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental. The Orinoco is a region of humid forested broadleaf forest and wetland primarily comprising the drainage basin for the Orinoco River and other adjacent lowland forested areas. This region includes most of Venezuela and parts of Colombia, as well as Trinidad and Tobago . The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including

1118-580: The Neotropic include Bromeliaceae , Cannaceae and Heliconiaceae . Plant species with economic importance originally unique to the Neotropic include: Clay lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick ) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals . Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farmers place in pastures for livestock to lick). Natural licks are common, and they provide essential elements such as phosphorus and

1161-630: The Neotropical Floristic Kingdom excludes southernmost South America, which instead is placed in the Antarctic kingdom . The Neotropic is delimited by similarities in fauna or flora . Its fauna and flora are distinct from the Nearctic realm (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama joined the two continents two to three million years ago, precipitating

1204-452: The Neotropics include hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) and wrens (family Troglodytidae). Mammal groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: The Neotropical realm has 63 endemic fish families and subfamilies, which is more than any other realm. Neotropical fishes include more than 5,700 species, and represent at least 66 distinct lineages in continental freshwaters (Albert and Reis, 2011). The well-known red-bellied piranha

1247-545: The coastline from the Tárcoles River basin to Esterillos Beach which had helped increase the population drastically. The combined efforts and the correct ecotourism also have an important role in the conservation of such majestic birds. Tour companies along the Tarcoles River and its mangroves have bet on the importance of birdwatching as an asset for the growth on its population. While comparatively docile at most times of

1290-501: The complete genome of the scarlet macaw. Based on this genome, species-specific microsatellite genetic markers were developed to aid genetic studies throughout the range of the species. These genetic markers were later validated on the trace amount of DNA acquired from feathers, and applied to study red-and-green macaws in a tropical landscape where DNA can degrade very quickly. These markers were proven to be useful to study their population genetics and identification of individuals in

1333-532: The face patch. The upper mandible is mostly pale horn in color and the lower is black. Juveniles have dark eyes; adults have light yellow eyes. It is frequently confused with the slightly larger green-winged macaw , which has more distinct red lines in the face and no yellow in the wing. Scarlet macaws make very loud, high and sometimes low-pitched, throaty squawks, squeaks and screams designed to carry many kilometers to call for their groups. The scarlet macaw can live up to 75 or even 90 years in captivity, although

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1376-406: The greater upper wing coverts are yellow, the upper sides of the flight feathers of the wings are dark blue as are the ends of the tail feathers, and the undersides of the wing and tail flight feathers are dark red with metallic gold iridescence. Some individuals may have green in the wings. There is bare white skin around the eye and from there to the bill . Tiny white feathers are contained on

1419-462: The landscape of the Peruvian Amazon. It is about 81 centimeters (32 in) long, of which more than half is the pointed, graduated tail typical of all macaws , though the scarlet macaw has a larger percentage of tail than the other large macaws. The average weight is about 1 kilogram (2 lb 3 oz). The plumage is mostly scarlet , but the rump and tail-covert feathers are light blue,

1462-410: The minerals at these sites not for nutrition, but to ward off the effects of secondary compounds that are included in the arsenal of plant defences against herbivory . The minerals of these sites usually contain calcium , magnesium , sulfur , phosphorus , potassium , and sodium . Mineral lick sites play a critical role in the ecology and diversity of organisms that visit these sites, but little

1505-580: The realm are, according to Takhtajan (1978), Hymenophyllopsidaceae , Marcgraviaceae , Caryocaraceae , Pellicieraceae , Quiinaceae , Peridiscaceae , Bixaceae , Cochlospermaceae , Tovariaceae , Lissocarpaceae ( Lissocarpa ), Brunelliaceae , Dulongiaceae , Columelliaceae , Julianiaceae , Picrodendraceae , Goupiaceae , Desfontainiaceae , Plocospermataceae , Tropaeolaceae , Dialypetalanthaceae ( Dialypetalanthus ), Nolanaceae ( Nolana ), Calyceraceae , Heliconiaceae , Cannaceae , Thurniaceae and Cyclanthaceae . Plant families that originated in

1548-683: The realm into bioregions , defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)." Laurel forest and other cloud forest are subtropical and mild temperate forest , found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. Tropical rainforest , tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests are highlight in Southern North America, Amazonia, Caribbean, Central America, Northern Andes and Central Andes. The Amazonia bioregion

1591-516: The scarlet macaw is a popular bird in aviculture as a result of its striking plumage. It is the third most common macaw species in captivity after the Blue and Gold and Greenwing Macaw respectively. In recent years it has become much rarer in captivity and much more expensive due to its placement on CITES Appendix I. The scarlet macaw was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in

1634-478: The time of first European contact ), in about 37 distinct language families and a further number of unclassified and isolate languages . Many of these languages and their cultures are also endangered. Accordingly, conservation in the Neotropical realm is a hot political concern, and raises many arguments about development versus indigenous versus ecological rights and access to or ownership of natural resources . The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) subdivides

1677-496: The utilization of mineral licks, many animals suffer from traffic collisions as they gather to lick salts accumulated on road surfaces. Animals also consume soil ( geophagy ) to obtain minerals, such as moose from Canada mining for minerals from the root wads of fallen trees. Artificial salt licks are used in the husbandry of livestock and to attract or maintain wildlife , whether it be for viewing, photography, farming, or hunting purposes. Maintaining artificial salt licks as

1720-541: The wild to bolster the population, as has been done by the Tambopata Macaw Project . Their captive diet, egg incubation, assisted hatching, hand rearing, co-parenting, parent-rearing, fledgling, maturation, and breeding are well understood within the avicultural community (AFA Watchbird magazine). Neotropical In biogeography , the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms . This realm includes South America, Central America ,

1763-478: The wild. The scarlet macaw is an early example of a parrot breeding in captivity. Captive breeding occurred in Northern Mexico at Paquime (also called Casas Grandes ) and very likely Southwest New Mexico Mimbres Valley in the 11th century. Breeding pens, perches, bones, and eggshell fragments have been uncovered. The straightforward nature of scarlet macaw breeding and the value of their plumes in trade created

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1806-402: The year, scarlet macaws may be formidably aggressive during periods of breeding. Scarlet macaws are monogamous birds, with individuals remaining with one partner throughout their lives. The hen lays two or three white eggs in a large tree cavity. The female incubates the eggs for about five weeks, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 90 days after hatching and leave their parents about

1849-480: Was originally part of the supercontinent of Gondwana , which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including marsupial mammals and the Antarctic flora . After the final breakup of the Gondwana about 110 million years ago, South America was separated from Africa and drifted north and west. 66 million years ago,

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