Blue-headed macaw

<h2 id="description">Description</h2>
<p>The blue-headed macaw is 41 cm (16 in) long. It has mainly green plumage (often tinged olive, esp. below) with the head, <a href="/facts/Flight_feathers/3uVoF8nM">flight feathers</a> and primary coverts blue. The uppertail has a maroon base, a narrow green center and a blue tip. The undertail and underwing are greenish-yellow similar to that of several other small macaws (e.g. <a href="/facts/Red-bellied_macaw/ftEqFH67">red-bellied</a> and <a href="/facts/Golden-collared_macaw/tSDhS7gc">golden-collared macaw</a>). The medium-sized bill is pale greyish-horn with a black base (extent varies, but upper mandible in adults typically appears mainly pale). The <a href="/facts/Iris_(anatomy)/e774BXL8">iris</a> is whitish with a narrow, often barely visible, maroon eye-ring. Unlike most other macaws, the facial skin and lores are dark greyish. The legs are dull pinkish. <a href="/facts/Juvenile_(organism)/XjmKPX4a">Juveniles</a> resemble adults, but with the entire bill black, greyer legs, darker iris and the facial skin and lores white.
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<h2 id="taxonomy">Taxonomy</h2>
<p>In recent years it has often been placed in the <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> <i>Propyrrhura</i>; however, as per <a href="/facts/International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature/Pxg8gsqf">ICZN</a> rules, the species is now considered to be in the genus <i><a href="/facts/Primolius/sBGkh45x">Primolius</a></i>. Earlier, it has also been placed in the genus <i><a href="/facts/Ara_(genus)/vrt5EfjF">Ara</a></i>, which, at present, is only used for some of the larger macaws.
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<h2 id="habitat">Habitat</h2>
<p>It is found in the south-west <a href="/facts/Amazon_Rainforest/MGVatclX">Amazon</a> and adjacent east <a href="/facts/Andean/a4wlgG3e">Andean</a> <a href="/facts/Foothills/bhPm8MUM">foothills</a>. It prefers openings in humid forest, e.g. along rivers or clearings, but has also been observed in <a href="/facts/Moriche_Palm/9HuEnhUz">Moriche Palm</a> swamps and outskirts of towns. It occurs from the <a href="/facts/Lowland/WFatkmW0">lowlands</a> up to an altitude of 1550 m (5100 ft). As several other <a href="/facts/Parrot/u32QQjMe">parrots</a>, the blue-headed macaw is known to visit <a href="/facts/Clay-lick/gQemBTfl">clay-licks</a>.
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<h2 id="behavior">Behavior</h2>
<p>Little is known about its reproductive behavior in the wild, but a possible nest has been recorded in a bamboo cavity and another in a tree cavity. In captivity, the reproductive cycle appears to be roughly annual with a clutch size of 2-4 being the norm. In the wild it is typically seen in groups of 2-4 individuals, with occasional records of groups up to c. 60 individuals. Its call is higher-pitched and softer than that of most other macaws.
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<h2 id="status">Status</h2>
<p>Until recently it was considered fairly common, but a review in 2006 by <a href="/facts/BirdLife_International/2mvdlBdx">BirdLife International</a> suggested it was rare with a decreasing total population of 1000-2500 individuals. It has therefore been uplisted to <a href="/facts/Endangered/L7cIweSW">endangered</a> in the 2007 <a href="/facts/IUCN_Red_List/8gemqCLu">IUCN Red List</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> Parts of the range of this species remain poorly known, but Tobias & Brightsmith (2007) has suggested that previous estimates were too low, with actual number of 9200-46000 mature individuals more likely. It has therefore been suggested that <a href="/facts/Vulnerable_species/79WNk4Gj">vulnerable</a> might be a more appropriate category for this species.
</p><p>Much of the forest within its range remains intact, but habitat loss could be a threat, at least locally. It occurs in several protected areas, e.g. <a href="/facts/Tambopata-Candamo/YtlULTKf">Tambopata-Candamo</a> and <a href="/facts/Man%25C3%25BA_National_Park/q4JWt4VP">Manu</a>.
</p><p>The capture of individuals for the wild bird trade potentially presents a serious problem. It is rare in captivity and consequently prices are high (US$12,500 but the past few years have declined as low as $4,000 - 5,000 US in some EU countries). International trade in this species was virtually unknown in 1993, where <a href="/facts/CITES/hCahxMSr">CITES</a> only registered three legally traded individuals, but this had risen to 55 individuals in 2000. As of August 2007, the <a href="/facts/International_Species_Information_System/bjoff0CG">International Species Information System</a> listed only 26 individuals in <a href="/facts/Zoo/FsM5YT6a">zoos</a> outside its native countries, and <a href="/facts/Loro_Parque/hv50LYCC">Loro Parque</a> (not included on ISIS) has 35+ individuals. CITES reported that approx. 50 illegally held blue-headed macaws were seized throughout the World in 1993–2000, and an investigation in <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> in 2001 resulted in approx. 30 individuals being seized.
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<ul><li>Juniper & Parr (1998). <i>A Guide to the Parrots of the World</i>. Pica Press, East Sussex. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-873403-40-2</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070224143750/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~remsen/SACCprop177.html">To reassign the genus of three macaws</a> South American Classification Committee.</li>
<li>Tobias, J., and D. J. Brightsmith (2007). <i>Distribution, ecology and conservation status of the Blue-headed Macaw Primolius couloni.</i> Biological Conservation. 139: 126–138.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20040603102103/http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/7419400.htm">Stamps</a>[<i>usurped</i>] (for <a href="/facts/Peru/dBt7XrYD">Peru</a>) with RangeMap</li>
<li><a href="http://www.pbase.com/corotauria/image/82519581">Photo-High Res-(Close-up)</a>; *<a href="http://www.pbase.com/corotauria/blauwkopara_zoo">Article</a>; <a href="http://www.pbase.com/corotauria/araas_zoo">Article-2</a> pbase—"Macaws and Conures"</li>
<li><a href="https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=5162EBDF6BE904E4">Blue-headed macaw on Avibase</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Species factsheet: Primolius couloni". BirdLife International (2008). Retrieved 24 July 2008. <a href="http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1556&m=0" target="_blank">http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1556&m=0</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Beolens, Bo (9 October 2014). Eponym Dictionary of Birds. MacMillan. ISBN 978-1472905734. <a href="978-1472905734" target="_blank">978-1472905734</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>BirdLife International (2018). "Primolius couloni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22685593A132058374. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22685593A132058374.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021. <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685593/132058374" target="_blank">https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685593/132058374</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Blue-headed macaw open-in-new

Blue-headed macaw