Red-bellied Macaw

Overview

The red-bellied macaw (Orthopsittaca manilatus) is a medium-sized parrot and the largest of the so-called "mini-macaws." It is endemic to tropical Amazonian South America and the Caribbean island of Trinidad.

Identification

• Mostly green plumage with a large maroon patch on the lower abdomen and a bluish forehead.
• Face and cere covered in bare mustard-yellow skin with dark brown irises.
• Long, tapered tail and dark-grey beak in adults; juveniles have a grey beak with a conspicuous white mid-line stripe.
• Males are usually larger with larger heads, though plumage is identical between sexes.

Habitat

Found in moriche (or buriti) palm swamp forests and sandy savannahs with palm groves. The range extends from Colombia south to Amazonian Peru and Bolivia, and central Brazil as far as the northwestern cerrado, as well as the island of Trinidad.

Diet

Feeds almost exclusively on the fruit and seeds of the moriche palm and the Caribbean royal palm in Trinidad. These foods are high in carbohydrate and beta-carotene but contain virtually no fat.

Did you know?

The species is critically dependent on the moriche palm for roosting, feeding and nesting, often sleeping in groups of five to ten birds inside woodpecker holes in the trees.