Red-and-Green Macaw Gallery

Ara chloropterus

The Birds of the World website provides this introductory information about the Red-and-Green Macaw:  The Red-and-Green Macaw is a colorful and recognizable parrot that can be found from eastern Panama through Colombia and from Venezuela east to Brazil and south to Paraguay and Bolivia. As the name suggests, the Red-and-Green Macaw is primarily red with green greater and median wing-coverts. This bird’s primaries are blue and has blue scattered throughout the rump and tail. Similar in appearance, the  Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) lacks the green wing-coverts of the Red-and-Green Macaw. The Red-and-Green Macaw is a resident of humid lowland evergreen forest and tropical deciduous forest, as well as occasionally savannas and llanos. These large parrots nest in holes in trees, as wells cavities in sandstone cliffs. Although this species is not globally threatened, Red-and-Green Macaws are targeted by the pet trade are in decline at the edges of their range.

I saw and photographed my first Red-and-Green Macaw on August 20, 2023 in the Amazon Basin Region of Brazil.  Our small group with Jeff Parker Tours was at Southwild’s Fazenda São Nicolau located on the Juruena River west of Alta Floresta. We left the lodge early that morning headed back to Cuiabá, taking a boat to the ferry landing on the other side of the Juruena River.  It was on this boat ride that I saw a small group of three Red-and-Green Macaws, perched high in a tree near the river. For a more detailed description of the trip that included my sighting of this bird look at this blog post.  Here are some of my photos of this little bird.