Animal
Blue-and-yellow macaw
The blue-and-yellow macaw is a big parrot. Its back is blue, its front is golden yellow, and it has a white face with thin black stripes.
The blue-and-yellow macaw is a large parrot of South America and Panama. It is bright blue on top and golden yellow underneath, with a green forehead and a white face lined with black. It lives near swamps and rivers, cracks nuts with its strong black beak and stays with one mate for life.
Ara ararauna is a large macaw of tropical forest, woodland and savanna, especially swampy and riverside forest, from Panama to Paraguay. It is rated Least Concern by the IUCN (2018), though declining. It disappeared from Trinidad by the late 1960s, and a reintroduction in the Nariva Swamp has since brought it back.
Photo: I, Luc Viatour, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the blue-and-yellow macaw
The blue-and-yellow macaw is a big, bright parrot.
Its back and wings are blue. Its tummy is yellow. Its face is white with thin black lines, and it has a big black beak.
The blue-and-yellow macaw is one of the big parrots called macaws. It is about 81 to 91.5 centimeters long, including its long, pointed tail, and its wings stretch more than a meter from tip to tip.
Its back, wings and tail are blue, and its breast and belly are golden yellow. A patch of green sits on its forehead. Its face is bare white skin crossed by thin lines of tiny black feathers, around a yellow eye. Its beak and throat are black. Males and females look alike.
Ara ararauna is a large member of the parrot family (Psittacidae). Animal Diversity Web gives a length of 81 to 91.5 centimeters, a wingspan of 104 to 114 centimeters and a weight of 0.9 to 1.8 kilograms; the sexes look alike.
The upperparts, wings and tail are blue and the underparts yellow, with yellow-orange underwing coverts and breast, a green forehead and green-tipped wings. The bare white facial skin carries several lines of small black feathers around a yellow iris, and the bill, throat and legs are black.
Quick facts
- Group
- Bird
- Length
- 0.81 to 0.92 m
- Wingspan
- 1.04 to 1.14 m
- Weight
- 0.9 to 1.8 kg
Swamps, rivers and palm forests
Blue-and-yellow macaws live in warm forests in South America.
They like trees near rivers and swamps. They nest in holes high up in tall trees.
Blue-and-yellow macaws live in tropical forests, woodlands and savannas across much of South America, from Venezuela and Colombia to Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. In Central America they live only in Panama.
They are usually found in forests beside rivers or in swampy places, mostly in lowlands below about 500 meters. They nest high in tall trees, usually in holes that other animals made.
The IUCN's 2018 assessment lists the species as resident in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, with an upper elevation limit of 500 meters. It is listed as extinct in Trinidad and Tobago, and a population in Puerto Rico was introduced.
ADW and Trinidad's national biodiversity site describe forests in riparian (riverside) or swampy areas as typical habitat, within a wider range of tropical forest, woodland and savanna. Nests are cavities high in tall trees, mainly ones already made by other animals; ADW notes that nesting high helps them avoid predators.
Continents
Its habitat
Where can you find this animal?
- Brought here by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
- Brought back by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Brought here by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
A population in Puerto Rico that people introduced.
Places: Puerto Rico.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Lowland forest, woodland and savanna, especially near rivers and swamps, from Panama to Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. It also lives in French Guiana, which this map shows as part of France.
Places: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and 2 more places.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, United States, Puerto Rico and 40 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Brought back by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Trinidad, where macaws died out in the late 1960s and were reintroduced to the Nariva Swamp from 1999. The IUCN's 2018 assessment still lists the species as extinct there.
Places: Trinidad & Tobago.
Source: https://biodiversity.gov.tt/index.php/40-uncategorised/160-species-of-the-month- · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
Nuts, seeds and fruit
Blue-and-yellow macaws eat seeds, nuts and fruit.
Their strong beaks crack hard shells. Sometimes they nibble clay from river banks.
Blue-and-yellow macaws eat mostly seeds, nuts and fruit. Their strong black beaks break open nut shells and crush seeds.
In the early morning they may join small, noisy flocks to look for food. By midday, when it is hot, they look for shade. Sometimes they also eat clay from riverbanks; it may help them cope with harmful chemicals in unripe seeds.
ADW describes the diet as mainly seeds, nuts and fruit, opened and crushed with the powerful bill, and calls the species an important seed predator that may influence forest dynamics through seed predation and dispersal. San Diego Zoo notes that macaws in general also eat flowers, leaves, stems and some insects and snails.
Foraging flocks gather in the early morning and seek shade by midday (ADW). Like other macaws, blue-and-yellow macaws sometimes eat clay at riverbanks; Trinidad's biodiversity site says this may assist digestion, and ADW links it to coping with toxins in unripe seeds.
Built for flying through the forest
Macaws have long wings and long tails.
They hold food with their toes, like hands. When they land, they put their tails and feet down and slow down with their wings.
Like other macaws, the blue-and-yellow macaw has a streamlined body and tail for flying through the trees. When it comes in to land, it drops its tail and feet and uses its wings like brakes. Its strong toes grip like hands.
Macaws chew a lot, which keeps their big curved beaks in good shape. Its eyes are sharp too: ADW notes that these macaws have very good eyesight.
San Diego Zoo describes macaws as adapted for flight through forest, with streamlined bodies and tails and wings that do not flap deeply; on landing they drop tail and feet and brake with the wings. Macaw toes are strong and agile and used like hands, and a macaw's tongue is dry and slightly scaly, with a bone inside that helps it work food.
The heavy, hooked bill cracks nuts, and San Diego Zoo notes that macaws chew a lot to keep their beaks in good shape. ADW notes highly developed visual acuity in this species.
A slow start in a tree hole
Macaws lay eggs in a hole high in a tree.
The mother keeps two or three eggs warm. Mom and dad both feed the chicks. At about three months, the young can look after themselves.
Blue-and-yellow macaws breed every one or two years, laying eggs between January and July. The female lays two or three eggs in a tree hole and keeps them warm for about 24 to 28 days.
The chicks hatch blind and without feathers. For the first week only the mother feeds them; then the father helps too. Feathers start to grow after about 10 days, and within about three months the young can look after themselves. They are grown up and ready to breed at three to four years.
Pairs breed about every one to two years, in the first half of the year (January to July, per ADW). Two to three eggs are laid in a cavity high in a tall tree and incubated for 24 to 28 days.
Nestlings are altricial, hatching blind and featherless. The female alone feeds them by regurgitation for the first week, after which both parents provide food, and both defend the nest fiercely against intruders. Feathers begin to grow at about 10 days, and fledglings become independent within about three months. Sexual maturity comes at three to four years.
Partners for life
Macaw partners stay together their whole lives.
They fly side by side, so close their wings almost touch. If they see danger, they fly up and screech loudly.
Blue-and-yellow macaws form pairs that stay together for life. They are usually seen in twos, flying so close that their wings almost touch, though pairs also gather in flocks to feed.
These macaws are very wary. At any sign of danger they fly up into the air, screeching loudly. They talk to each other with loud calls, especially when they roost and feed. Like other macaws, they are curious and playful and often take baths.
ADW describes monogamous pairs that mate for life and fly close together with wings almost touching, joining small, noisy foraging flocks in the early morning. The species is extremely wary and flies up screeching at any sign of danger.
Communication relies on loud vocalizations and flock calls, which Trinidad's biodiversity site notes are given especially during roosting and feeding; ADW describes the social behavior and calls of all macaws as very complex. San Diego Zoo adds that macaws in general explore objects, have been known to use items as tools and like to bathe.
Did you know?
Macaws came back to live on the island of Trinidad.
After vanishing from Trinidad in the 1960s, blue-and-yellow macaws were brought back to the island's Nariva Swamp.
Trinidad's biodiversity site reports a successful reintroduction in the Nariva Swamp after the species was extirpated in the late 1960s.
Back in Trinidad
Macaws once vanished from the island of Trinidad.
Then helpers brought macaws back to a big swamp there. Now wild macaws live in Trinidad again.
The IUCN Red List rates the blue-and-yellow macaw Least Concern, because it lives across a huge area, but its numbers are going down. Forests are cut down, and people trap macaws for the pet trade, which often kills the parents to take the young.
There is good news from Trinidad, an island off Venezuela. Macaws disappeared from there in the late 1960s. Between 1999 and 2004, wild macaws from Guyana were released in Trinidad's Nariva Swamp. Most of them survived and raised chicks.
The IUCN assessed Ara ararauna as Least Concern in 2018 because of its very large range, with a decreasing population. ADW names habitat degradation from pollution, development and logging, and capture for the pet trade, food and feathers; taking fledglings for the trade often kills the parents and destroys nest trees. The species is listed on CITES Appendix II (ADW).
Trinidad's biodiversity site says the macaw was extirpated from Trinidad in the late 1960s and has been successfully reintroduced in the Nariva Swamp. ADW describes the project: between 1999 and 2004, wild-caught birds from Guyana were released from pre-release flight cages; of 14 birds in the first release, 9 survived and produced 12 chicks in three breeding seasons.
IUCN Red List
How is the blue-and-yellow macaw doing in the wild?
- Least Concern (this animal)
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Least Concern
Not at risk of disappearing from the wild right now.
See the IUCN Red List assessment · The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3
Amazing facts
-
Every blue-and-yellow macaw has black lines on its white face.
The white face of a blue-and-yellow macaw is crossed by thin lines of tiny black feathers.
The bare white facial skin carries several lines of small black feathers around the yellow eye.
-
Macaw partners fly so close their wings almost touch.
Pairs of blue-and-yellow macaws fly so close together that their wings almost touch.
ADW notes that paired birds fly close together with their wings almost touching.
-
Baby macaws have no feathers when they hatch.
Blue-and-yellow macaw chicks hatch blind and featherless, and start growing feathers after about 10 days.
Altricial nestlings hatch blind and naked and begin feather growth at about 10 days (ADW).
-
Macaws came back to live on the island of Trinidad.
After vanishing from Trinidad in the 1960s, blue-and-yellow macaws were brought back to the island's Nariva Swamp.
Trinidad's biodiversity site reports a successful reintroduction in the Nariva Swamp after the species was extirpated in the late 1960s.
Words to know
- macaw
- a large parrot with a long tail from the Americas
- swamp
- wet, often flooded land with trees growing in it
- riparian
- growing or living along the banks of a river
- reintroduce
- to bring an animal back to a place where it had disappeared
- altricial
- born or hatched helpless and needing care
- pet trade
- buying and selling animals to keep as pets
Discovery challenge
-
What color is this macaw's tummy?
What color are a blue-and-yellow macaw's breast and belly?
Which color covers the blue-and-yellow macaw's underparts?
- Golden yellow
- Bright red
- Plain gray
Show the answer
Golden yellow
Its tummy is golden yellow, and its back is blue.
The breast and belly are golden yellow; the back, wings and tail are blue.
The underparts and underwing coverts are yellow to yellow-orange; the upperparts are blue.
-
Where do these macaws like to live?
Which places do blue-and-yellow macaws often live in?
Which habitat is typical of the blue-and-yellow macaw?
- Forests by rivers and swamps
- Snowy mountain tops
- Sandy deserts
Show the answer
Forests by rivers and swamps
They live in forests near rivers and swamps.
They are usually found in forests beside rivers or in swampy places.
Riparian and swampy forest within a wider range of tropical forest, woodland and savanna, below about 500 m.
-
How do macaw partners fly?
How do blue-and-yellow macaw pairs fly?
What is typical of paired blue-and-yellow macaws in flight?
- Side by side, wings almost touching
- Far apart, never meeting
- Upside down
Show the answer
Side by side, wings almost touching
They fly close together, side by side.
Pairs fly so close together that their wings almost touch.
Monogamous pairs fly close together, wings almost touching (ADW).
-
Which island got its macaws back?
On which island were blue-and-yellow macaws brought back after disappearing?
Where was the blue-and-yellow macaw reintroduced after being extirpated in the 1960s?
- Trinidad
- Iceland
- Madagascar
Show the answer
Trinidad
Helpers brought macaws back to Trinidad.
Macaws were released in Trinidad's Nariva Swamp from 1999, and most of them survived and raised chicks.
Trinidad's Nariva Swamp, using wild-caught birds from Guyana released between 1999 and 2004.
Places where you might see it
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Describe the blue-and-yellow macaw's colors and body parts, and how it differs from the scarlet macaw.
- Explain what macaws eat and where they nest.
- Describe the macaw's slow life cycle and lifelong pairs.
- Explain how habitat loss and trapping affect macaws, and how the Trinidad reintroduction worked.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might nesting high in a tree hole help a macaw family?
- What has to be true about a place before an animal can be brought back to live there?
- Why does raising only two or three chicks every year or two make macaws slow to recover?
Try at home or in class
- Stretch a tape measure to 110 centimeters, about a blue-and-yellow macaw's wingspan, and compare it with your own arm span.
- Draw a macaw face and add thin lines of black feathers on the white skin, the way blue-and-yellow macaws have them.
Key vocabulary: macaw, swamp, riparian, reintroduce, altricial, pet trade
Where these facts come from
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Ara ararauna (Blue-and-yellow Macaw), Red List assessment 2018 , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Ara ararauna (blue-and-yellow macaw) , Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Macaw , San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
- Species of the Month: The Blue and Yellow Macaw , Trinidad and Tobago's National Biodiversity Information System
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 28, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.