The Great Green Macaw, Ara ambiguus, also known as Buffon's Macaw or the Great Military Macaw, is a Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

 found in Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

, Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

, Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. Two allopatric subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 are recognized, the nominate subspecies is found in Central America to northern Colombia, while A. a. guayaquilensis is found in western Ecuador and possibly south-western Colombia.

Taxonomy

The scientific name has recently been changed from A. ambigua to A. ambiguus to bring the name in gender agreement.

Description

Great Green Macaws are the largest parrots in their natural range, averaging 85–90 cm (33–36 in) long and 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) in weight. They are mainly green and have a reddish forehead and pale blue lower back, rump and upper tail feathers. Tail is brownish red tipped with very pale blue. The bare facial skin is patterned with lines of small dark feathers, which are reddish in older and female parrots.

The Great Green Macaw appears superficially similar to, and may easily be confused with the somewhat smaller Military Macaw

Military Macaw

The Military Macaw is a large parrot and a medium-sized member of the macaw genus. Though considered vulnerable as a wild species, it is still commonly found in the pet trade industry. A predominantly green bird, it is found in the forests of Mexico and South America.-Taxonomy:There are three...

.

Status

It is endangered, and has been one of the key elements in the proposal for the formation of a new National Park in Costa Rica, Maquenque National Park

Maquenque National Park

Maquenque National Park is a proposed National Park, which would form part of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, in the northern part of Costa Rica. It would bring together a number of existing Nature Reserves, Wildlife refuges and Forest Reserves to form a new National Park...

. Already significant parts of the bird's existing habitat is covered by Nature reserves and other conservation projects.

Aviculture

Buffon's Macaw is sometimes bred in captivity, having a less nervous personality than most other macaws, but it is still very rarely seen as a pet.

External links

• Rainforest Biodiversity Group
  
• Ara ambiguus conservation and reintroduction in Costa Rica