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A blue-and-yellow macaw flying with its wings spread wide over green trees.
Photo: Luc Viatour, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

Ara ararauna

A big blue-and-gold parrot of South American rainforests that mates for life and eats clay from riverbanks.

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About the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

Blue-and-yellow macaws live in rainforests, especially near swamps and rivers, from Panama through much of South America. They are blue on the back and wings and yellow underneath, with a green forehead and a bare white face lined with black feathers. They eat mainly seeds, nuts and fruit. These macaws usually live in pairs but sometimes gather in flocks.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Ara ararauna[1]
Size
81 to 91.5 cm (32 to 36 inches) long, with a wingspan of 104 to 114 cm.[1]
Weight
0.9 to 1.8 kg (about 2 to 4 pounds).[1]
Lifespan
Up to 50 years in the wild.[1]
Diet
Mainly seeds, nuts and fruit, plus clay from riverbanks.[1]
Habitat
Rainforests, especially near swamps and rivers.[1]
Where it lives
Panama and South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.[1]
Group life
Mostly in pairs that mate for life. Sometimes gathers in flocks.[1]
Babies
2 or 3 eggs, nested high in trees, hatch after 24 to 28 days.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2018).[2]

Fun facts

  • Blue-and-yellow macaws eat clay from riverbanks to help them digest toxins in unripe seeds.[1]
  • They can mimic words and sounds.[1]
  • Their bare white faces have lines of tiny black feathers around the eyes.[1]
  • Young macaws become independent within about 3 months of leaving the nest.[1]

Vocabulary

macaw
A large, long-tailed parrot from Central and South America.
mimic
To copy the sounds or actions of something else.
toxin
A poison made by a living thing.
mate for life
To stay with the same partner for as long as both live.
reintroduce
To return a species to a place where it used to live.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. “Ara ararauna (blue-and-yellow macaw).” https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ara_ararauna/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Ara ararauna (Blue-and-yellow Macaw).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685539/131917270 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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