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title: "What the sources say about the Scarlet Macaw | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "47 claims from the Scarlet Macaw profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Scarlet Macaw (*Ara macao*)

> 47 claims from the Scarlet Macaw profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Scarlet Macaw](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/scarlet-macaw/)

## Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Scarlet Macaw. Federal Register, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2019.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-02-26/pdf/2019-03165.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| big scarlet parrot | are one of the larger macaws (Collar 1997, p. 421). Scarlet macaws are brilliantly colored and predominantly scarlet red |
| feeds mostly in the forest canopy | Scarlet macaws, like most parrots, feed primarily in the canopy |
| Tropical rainforest, gallery forest, mangroves and savannas from Mexico to the Amazon basin, mostly below 500 meters elevation | lowland rain forest, mixed pine and broad-leaved woodlands, open areas and edges with scattered stands of tall trees, gallery forest, mangroves, and savannas, with many of the areas that scarlet macaw inhabit near rivers (Juniper and Parr 1998, p. 425; Wiedenfeld 1994, p. 101; Forshaw 1989, p. 407; Meyer de Schauensee and Phelps, Jr. 1978, p. 99). The species generally occurs from sea level to about 500 meters (m) (1,640 feet (ft)) elevation (note: 'mostly below' paraphrases 'generally occurs from sea level to about'; the rule adds reports up to 1,500 m in Central America) |
| from Mexico to the Amazon basin | Extending from Mexico southward to central Bolivia and Brazil [...] The majority (83 percent) of the species' range lies within the Amazon Biome of South America |
| Mostly fruits and seeds, plus flowers, leaves, bark and lichen; eats soil at riverbank clay licks in parts of its range | Fruits and seeds comprise the majority of a scarlet macaw's diet, but they also consume, to a lesser degree, fruit pulp, flowers, leaves, bark, lichen, and bromeliads [...] in some areas of the scarlet macaw's range, they regularly visit claylicks (naturally forming wall of clay on a riverbank) where they consume soil or minerals (note: 'Mostly' paraphrases 'comprise the majority') |
| measures 84 to 89 centimeters long and weighs between 900 and 1,490 grams, making it one of the larger macaws | They measure 84–89 centimeters (33–35 inches) in length, weigh 900–1490 grams (2.0–3.3 pounds), and are one of the larger macaws |
| No macaw covers more ground: its range runs from Mexico through Central America and across the Amazon basin to central Bolivia and Brazil, an area of roughly 7 to 10 million square kilometers | The range of the scarlet macaw is the broadest of all the macaw species ... Extending from Mexico southward to central Bolivia and Brazil, it covers an estimated 7,030,975–10,200,000 square kilometers (km2) (note: 7,030,975-10,200,000 km2 is rounded to 7 to 10 million for a young audience) |
| About 83 percent of that territory lies within the Amazon Biome of South America | The majority (83 percent) of the species' range lies within the Amazon Biome of South America |
| Fruit and seeds make up most of a scarlet macaw's diet, topped up with flowers, leaves, bark, lichen and bromeliads | Fruits and seeds comprise the majority of a scarlet macaw's diet, but they also consume, to a lesser degree, fruit pulp, flowers, leaves, bark, lichen, and bromeliads (note: 'most' paraphrases 'comprise the majority') |
| up to 52 plant species in the Peruvian Amazon and up to 43 in Costa Rica | They have been reported to consume up to 52 plant species in the Amazon of Peru ... and up to 43 different plant species in Costa Rica |
| nesting in natural or abandoned tree cavities that they do not dig themselves | Scarlet macaws are secondary cavitynesting birds, meaning they do not create their own cavities but rely upon natural or abandoned cavities for nesting [...] They nest in both live and dead trees |
| In parts of their range scarlet macaws regularly visit walls of clay on riverbanks to eat soil or minerals | in some areas of the scarlet macaw's range, they regularly visit claylicks (naturally forming wall of clay on a riverbank) where they consume soil or minerals |
| One suggested benefit is counteracting toxins in their food, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2019 listing rule found it unclear whether the habit brings a nutritional or any other benefit | it is unclear whether this provides a nutritional or other benefit to the species such as counteracting toxins in food sources (note: 2019 is the rule's Federal Register date; counteracting toxins is the rule's own example of a possible benefit) |
| its northern subspecies, Ara macao cyanoptera, was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2019 | Tuesday, February 26, 2019 / Rules and Regulations [...] determine the northern subspecies of scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) is an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (note: 2019 is the rule's Federal Register date, printed in the page header quoted) |
| The listing rule names habitat loss, poaching for the pet trade, lack of enforcement of existing regulations and small population size as the main causes of the scarlet macaw's decline | The primary causes attributed to the decline of the scarlet macaw (A. m. cyanoptera and A. m. macao) include habitat loss and forest degradation (Factor A), poaching for the pet trade (Factor B), lack of enforcement of existing regulations (Factor D), and small population size (Factor E). |
| A 2009 estimate put the northern subspecies at fewer than 1,000 birds | the current population of A. m. cyanoptera was estimated to be fewer than 1,000 birds (McNab 2009, p. 1) |
| by 2019 scarlet macaws had been wiped out from almost all of their former range in Mexico and all of it in El Salvador | Tuesday, February 26, 2019 / Rules and Regulations [...] It has been extirpated from almost all of its former range in Mexico, all of its former range in El Salvador, and much of its former range throughout Central America. (note: 'by 2019' dates the statement to the rule; 'It' in the source is the scarlet macaw) |
| The same rule very roughly estimated South America's scarlet macaws at 15,000 to 45,000 birds | the South American population of the scarlet macaw can be very roughly estimated to be 15,000–45,000 birds |
| In some areas the birds regularly stop at clay licks, natural walls of clay on a riverbank, to swallow soil or minerals | in some areas of the scarlet macaw's range, they regularly visit claylicks (naturally forming wall of clay on a riverbank) where they consume soil or minerals |
| Countering toxins in their food is one possible payoff, yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2019 review judged it unclear whether they gain anything nutritional or otherwise | it is unclear whether this provides a nutritional or other benefit to the species such as counteracting toxins in food sources (note: 2019 is the rule's Federal Register date) |
| in 2019 the northern subspecies | Tuesday, February 26, 2019 / Rules and Regulations [...] determine the northern subspecies of scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) is an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (note: 2019 is the rule's Federal Register date, printed in the page header quoted) |
| found from southern Mexico to Nicaragua and Panama's Isla Coiba | A. m. cyanoptera (occurring from southern Mexico to Nicaragua and Isla Coiba, Panama) |
| listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which ruled the southern subspecies threatened | determine the northern subspecies of scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) is an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended; the northern distinct population segment (DPS) of the southern subspecies of scarlet macaw (A. m. macao) is a threatened species under the Act, and the southern DPS of the southern subspecies of scarlet macaw (A. m. macao) (note: Both distinct population segments of the southern subspecies are listed threatened, so the whole subspecies is) |

## Ara macao (scarlet macaw). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ara_macao/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| beak that can break open the toughest nuts | Scarlet macaws are also able to break open the toughest nuts. |
| A beak that can break open the toughest nuts | Scarlet macaws are also able to break open the toughest nuts. |
| grind hard seeds against the palate | There are structures on the inside of their beaks that allow scarlet macaws to press the hard seed between their tongue and palate and grind the seed so that it can be digested |
| paired with a monogamous bond that lasts for life | Scarlet macaws form monogamous pair bonds that last for life. |
| adults may escape most predators thanks to their size and flight | As adults scarlet macaws may escape most predation by virtue of their size and flight. (note: 'thanks to' paraphrases 'by virtue of') |
| jaguars, eagles and hawks may take adults and fledglings, and tree-climbing snakes, monkeys and small carnivores may take young in the nest | Young may be taken in the nest by arboreal predators such as snakes, monkeys, and other small carnivores. [...] Adults and fledglings may also be taken by large cats, such as jaguars, and by eagles and hawks. (note: 'tree-climbing' is ADW's own gloss of 'arboreal') |
| Scarlet macaws can break open the toughest nuts | Scarlet macaws are also able to break open the toughest nuts. |
| Structures inside the beak let a scarlet macaw press a hard seed between its tongue and palate and grind it up | There are structures on the inside of their beaks that allow scarlet macaws to press the hard seed between their tongue and palate and grind the seed so that it can be digested |
| parrots' beaks move more than other birds' do, which makes for a more powerful bill | Parrots have more movement in their beaks than do other birds, which allows for a more powerful bill. |
| Pairs mate for life and are rarely found alone once paired | Scarlet macaws form monogamous pair bonds that last for life. [...] Once paired with a mate, they are rarely found alone except to feed when one bird must incubate the eggs |
| trap a hard seed against the palate with its tongue and grind it into something digestible | There are structures on the inside of their beaks that allow scarlet macaws to press the hard seed between their tongue and palate and grind the seed so that it can be digested |
| Parrot bills also have more movement than those of other birds, and that makes them more powerful | Parrots have more movement in their beaks than do other birds, which allows for a more powerful bill. |
| Few other animals can get at such a wide variety of nuts | not a lot of other animals are able to access such a large variety of nuts |
| by eating fruit before it ripens, ahead of other animals, the macaw may gain a competitive advantage | Ara macao individuals are known to consume fruits before they are ripe. [...] By accessing these fruits before they are available to other animals, they may gain a competitive advantage. |
| pairs for life and, once paired, is rarely found alone | Scarlet macaws form monogamous pair bonds that last for life. [...] Once paired with a mate, they are rarely found alone except to feed when one bird must incubate the eggs |

## AnAge entry for Ara macao. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Ara_macao

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In captivity, one female was still alive after 33 years, and she had bred with the same male for 22 years | One female was still alive after 33 years in captivity but it rarely flew probably because of its age; it bred with a 32 year-old male for 22 years |
| AnAge, a database of animal lifespans, lists a maximum of 33 years, recorded in captivity | Maximum longevity 33 years (captivity) |
| Longer lives have been reported, one of 37.1 years and a specimen said to have reached 64, but AnAge calls those reports anecdotal | There are various anecdotal reports of animals living longer, though, including one report of an animal living 37.1 years [0986] and one specimen living to be 64 years of age [0575]. |

## Ara macao. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T22685563A163778999.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-2.rlts.t22685563a163778999.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The species as a whole is rated Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |
| Across its whole range the species rates Least Concern with the IUCN | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Watson et al. (2015). Early procurement of scarlet macaws and the emergence of social complexity in Chaco Canyon, NM. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1509825112

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Pueblo people at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico were acquiring scarlet macaws from Mesoamerica through long-distance networks as early as AD 900 to 975, radiocarbon dates on macaw skeletons show | New accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) 14C dates of scarlet macaw (Ara macao) skeletons from Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico reveal the earliest (A.D. 900–975) direct evidence for procurement of this Neotropical species by Pueblo people from Mesoamerica. By directly dating the macaws, we demonstrate the existence of long-distance acquisition networks (note: 'acquiring' paraphrases 'procurement') |
| That runs against models crediting Chaco's 11th-century peak of influence for bringing macaws to the canyon: most of the dated skeletons predate that period | In contrast to models of societal evolution that attribute procurement of macaws to the 11th-century peak of Chacoan influence and architectural expansion, most 14C dates significantly predate this period. |
| Status Symbol, Fractured Range | access to and control of these important status markers from Mesoamerica (note: Heading: 'status symbol' paraphrases the paper's 'important status markers'; 'fractured range' summarises the rule's extirpation passage, claimed below) |

## Renton (2006). Diet of Adult and Nestling Scarlet Macaws in Southwest Belize, Central America1. Biotropica.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00123.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In southwest Belize, a breeding-season study found adults and nestlings eating mostly seeds from a narrow range of foods, with nestlings fed chiefly on seeds of floodplain trees that may be rich in protein | Scarlet Macaw diet was determined during the breeding season of February–June 1998. Macaws were primarily granivorous, exhibiting a narrow diet during the dry season, with low variety of food items in adult and nestling diets. Seeds of Cnidoscolus spp. and Schizolobium parahybum, tree species characteristic of floodplain forest, were predominant in nestling diets, and may provide protein-rich food resources. (note: 'chiefly' paraphrases 'predominant'; southwest Belize is the paper's title scope) |