One of the world’s most striking — and rarest — parrots, a brilliant splash of color found only in the seasonally flooded savannas of the Beni region in Bolivia. With its vibrant turquoise-blue throat and crown, golden-yellow underparts, long, graceful tail, and expressive facial stripes, it looks almost too vivid to be real. This medium-sized macaw is slimmer and more delicate in build than its close relative, the blue-and-yellow macaw, giving it a sleek, elegant silhouette as it flies across the open savanna.

Blue-throated macaws are intimately tied to the Moxos floodplain, a mosaic of grasslands, palm “islands,” and forest patches that rise above the seasonal floods. Here, they depend almost entirely on the towering motacú palm (Attalea phalerata). They eat its fruits, roost in its crowns, and rely on the hollows of old motacú trees for nesting. Their diet also includes other fruits, seeds, and nuts, but the motacú palm is the backbone of their survival. Outside the breeding season, they travel in pairs or small, family-like groups, communicating with high-pitched yet gentle calls that are surprisingly soft for a macaw.

Breeding begins in the dry season when pairs — often bonded for life — search for suitable nest cavities. Unfortunately, natural hollows in old palms are few and far between, and blue-throated macaws face stiff competition from other cavity-nesters such as woodpeckers, owls, and other macaw species.

The species is listed as Critically Endangered, with only a few hundred individuals remaining in the wild. Its greatest historical threat was the pet trade — for decades, blue-throated macaws were heavily captured and smuggled, almost wiping out entire local populations.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Bolivia

312-455

Official estimate

CR

2021