Blue-winged Macaw Primolius maracana
(aka Illiger's Macaw, Propyrrhura maracana)
Blue-winged Macaw, Minas Gerais, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image Brazil

The Blue-winged Macaw used to be across much of Brazil south of the Amazon, Paraguay and northern Argentina. However, it has now declined to such an extent that it is classed as Vulnerable by Birdlife International.

The population is estimated to be less than 10,000 birds and this sharp decline is partly due to loss of habitat and partly due to the cage-bird trade (183 birds arrived in the USA from Paraguay between 1977 and 1979).

Blue-winged Macaw, Minas Gerais, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image It inhabits evergreen and deciduous forest including gallery forest within caatinga. It shows a preference for forest edge and proximity to water.

It has a red forehead and bluish crown while the bare face patch is yellowish-white. It has a red rump and patch in the mid-belly which can be seen on the lower bird in the first photo.

Blue-winged Macaw, Minas Gerais, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image The flight feathers are blue while the underside of the wings are dull yellow. The top of the tail is olive then reddish brown then blue towards the tip.

There are illustrations in HBW, Volume 4, Page 424; Threatened Birds of the World, Page 261; and Juniper & Parr, Plate 55.

Blue-winged Macaw, Minas Gerais, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image
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