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A green red-fronted macaw with a red forehead perched on a rope.
Photo: Doug Wertman (edited by Snowmanradio), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Red-Fronted Macaw

Ara rubrogenys

A critically endangered green macaw with a red forehead that lives only in dry mountain valleys of central Bolivia.

🦜 Parrots
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About the Red-Fronted Macaw

Red-fronted macaws are about 24 inches long and weigh 15 to 19 ounces, small for a macaw. They are mostly green with red on the forehead, behind the eyes and on the shoulders. They live only in dry, mountainous scrub forests of central Bolivia and eat cactus, grasses, fruits and nuts. Flocks of 2 to 30 feed and roost together.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Ara rubrogenys[1]
Size
About 24 inches long, with a wingspan of about 32 inches.[1]
Weight
15 to 19 ounces.[1]
Lifespan
Up to 50 years.[1]
Diet
Cactus, grasses, fruits and nuts; sometimes crops like corn.[1]
Habitat
Dry, mountainous scrub forest.[1]
Where it lives
Central Bolivia.[1]
Group life
Flocks of 2 to 30. Pairs stay together year-round.[1]
Babies
1 to 3 eggs in a cliff hole, incubated about 26 days.[1]
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2021). Fewer than 300 adults remain.[1][2]

Fun facts

  • Red-fronted macaws play by beak wrestling and tossing objects.[1]
  • They nest in holes in cliffs instead of trees.[1]
  • They help plants by pollinating flowers and spreading seeds.[1]

Vocabulary

pollinate
To carry pollen from one flower to another so plants can make seeds.
allopreening
When one bird cleans another bird's feathers.
pet trade
Buying and selling wild animals as pets, which can take too many from the wild.
scrub
Land covered with short bushes and small trees.
critically endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces an extremely high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Red-fronted Macaw.” https://www.sfzoo.org/red-fronted-macaw/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Ara rubrogenys (Red-fronted Macaw).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685572/196567391 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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