Wildlife Guide · Colombia & Brazil
Macaw
Tribe Arini (true macaws) — ~18 species across 6 genera: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, Diopsittaca (family Psittacidae)
Among the most trafficked birds on earth — taken by the tens of thousands every year.
Image: Photo: ImagePerson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
In brief
Macaws are large, long-tailed tropical parrots native to Central and South America; status varies by species, with several — including the blue-throated and Spix's macaws — Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild due to the illegal pet trade and deforestation.
By the WARN Research & Conservation TeamChecked against IUCN Red List & CITES sourcesLast updated
Macaws are the largest parrots in the world — the hyacinth macaw is the longest parrot of all, reaching about a metre from bill to tail. Scarlet, blue-and-yellow and hyacinth macaws are targeted by poachers across the Neotropics for the illegal pet trade, and habitat loss compounds the pressure. Conservation status varies sharply across the roughly 18 species: some remain widespread, while others — such as the blue-throated macaw and the Spix's macaw — sit among the rarest birds on Earth.
~4,300
Mature hyacinth macaws (IUCN; Vulnerable)
Majority
Of trafficked chicks die before sale
10+
Macaw species threatened with extinction
EW
Spix's macaw — reintroductions began 2022
Figures sourced from IUCN Red List — Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), IUCN Red List — Hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), BirdLife DataZone — Hyacinth Macaw factsheet and other references on this page.
Macaw: Quick Facts
| Group covered | ~18 macaw species across 6 genera (tribe Arini) |
|---|---|
| Lifespan | ~30–50 yrs wild; 50–60 yrs captivity (exceptionally 70+) |
| Length | ~30 cm (red-shouldered) to ~100 cm (hyacinth, the longest parrot) |
| Weight | Up to ~1.2–1.7 kg (hyacinth, the heaviest flying parrot) |
| Wingspan | Large species up to ~1.1–1.2 m |
| Diet | Seeds, nuts, fruit, flowers; many visit clay licks (geophagy) |
| Reproduction | Cavity nesters; clutch ~2–3 eggs; incubation ~26–28 days; maturity ~3–7 yrs |
| Group name | A flock (also called a 'pandemonium' of parrots) |
| Baby name | Chick |
| CITES | Appendix I or II depending on species |
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Psittaciformes |
| Family | Psittacidae |
| Tribe | Arini (the true macaws) |
| Genera | Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, Diopsittaca (6 genera) |
| Species | ~18 living species; several others (e.g. glaucous macaw) extinct or probably extinct |
Conservation Status
- IUCN Status
- Varies by species: Least Concern to Extinct in the Wild (several Critically Endangered)
- Population
- No single global figure (group spans ~18 species). Hyacinth ~4,700–11,000 mature; Lear's ~2,500 (2024); blue-throated ~200–500; Spix's Extinct in the Wild with captive-bred releases since 2022.
- Trend
- Decreasing for most threatened species; hyacinth stable; Lear's increasing
- Assessed
- Per species (e.g. Lear's downlisted to Endangered 2009; Spix's listed Extinct in the Wild 2019)
- CITES
- Appendix I or II (varies by species)
Because 'macaw' spans many species with very different statuses, conservation figures must be read per species rather than as a single category.
Did you know?
A macaw's powerful beak can crack a Brazil nut or a hard palm nut that would defeat a hammer — yet the same bird uses its dry, scaly-looking tongue, which has a bone inside it, to tap and taste food with surprising delicacy.
Key Facts: Macaw
- The Spix's macaw was declared Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN in 2019, after the last known wild bird disappeared at the end of 2000; captive-bred birds have been released into the Caatinga of Bahia, Brazil, since June 2022.
- The hyacinth macaw is the world's largest flying parrot and the longest parrot overall; the IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with roughly 4,700–11,000 mature individuals (about 4,300 in the headline IUCN estimate) and a stable trend.
- Macaws are taken as chicks from nest cavities in hollow trees — poachers often fell entire trees to reach a single nest.
- Chicks suffer very high mortality in transit: dehydration, stress and disease kill the majority before they reach a buyer.
- Macaws are generally monogamous and long-lived — commonly 30–50 years in the wild and 50–60 in captivity, with exceptional birds older — so illegal possession creates a decades-long welfare burden.
- Range states such as Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil feature repeatedly as source and transit countries for trafficked macaws.
How Is the Macaw Trade Organised?
The illegal macaw trade operates in layers. Local poachers in source countries locate nest trees, extract chicks, and sell to regional middlemen. Chicks are transported — often stuffed into PVC tubes, cloth sacks, or hidden in vehicle panels — to urban markets or export hubs. Corrupt officials can facilitate export to demand markets in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. By the time a live bird reaches its buyer, many others have died in transit. The trade is driven by consumer demand for exotic pets and, in some cases, by collectors seeking rare colour variants and the scarcest species.
What Happens to Rescued Macaws?
Macaws seized at ports of entry or rescued from trade networks arrive at reception centres in poor condition — malnourished, dehydrated, and often with wing injuries from clipping or confinement. Triage involves rehydration, medical assessment, and quarantine. Birds with intact flight feathers and no severe imprinting can progress through rehabilitation and, eventually, soft release into protected habitat. Imprinted birds — those raised in prolonged human contact — cannot be released safely and require lifetime aviary care. The shortage of appropriate sanctuary facilities means many confiscated birds have nowhere adequate to go.
Behaviour, Diet and the Clay Licks
Macaws are intensely social, flying in noisy pairs and flocks and bonding monogamously. Their diet is mainly seeds, nuts, fruit and flowers; the hyacinth macaw specialises on very hard palm nuts, such as acuri and bocaiuva, which its powerful beak can crack. In parts of the western Amazon, macaws and other parrots gather at exposed riverbank clay banks to eat soil — a behaviour called geophagy. The leading explanations are that the clay helps buffer plant toxins and supplies sodium, which is scarce in inland forests. These clay licks are a major draw for ecotourism, which gives local communities a living reason to keep the birds wild.
Macaw Conservation in Practice
Effective macaw conservation requires simultaneous work on multiple fronts: protecting nesting trees in key forest areas, working with customs authorities to improve detection at borders, building triage and rehabilitation capacity at receiving centres, and running community education programmes in source areas. Nest box programmes have shown strong results for several species — providing alternative nest sites that are easier to monitor and protect than hollow trees. The recovery of Lear's macaw, from about 60 birds in 1983 to more than 2,500 counted in 2024, shows what sustained, coordinated protection can achieve. WARN's in-network focus for this work is Colombia and Brazil; other macaw range states such as Peru and Bolivia feature as wider range and search context.
Key macaw species at a glance: status, population and range
| Species | IUCN status | Wild population | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) | Extinct in the Wild (reintroductions from 2022) | Wild-extinct since 2000; captive-bred birds released in Bahia | Caatinga, Bahia, Brazil |
| Blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis) | Critically Endangered | ~200–500 | Beni savannas, northern Bolivia |
| Glaucous macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus) | Critically Endangered (possibly extinct) | Likely none surviving | Lower Paraná/Uruguay basins, S. America |
| Lear's macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) | Endangered (down from CR in 2009) | ~2,500 (2,548 counted in 2024) | Caatinga, Bahia, Brazil |
| Hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) | Vulnerable | ~4,700–11,000 mature (stable) | Pantanal, Cerrado & Amazon edge, Brazil/Bolivia |
| Scarlet macaw (Ara macao) | Least Concern | Widespread but locally declining | Mexico through Central America to Amazonia |
Macaw Species Guide
From the Blue-and-Gold and Scarlet Macaw to the Hyacinth, Military and Blue-Throated Macaw — explore 10 of the world's most searched macaw species with range, temperament, conservation status and care context for owners and researchers.
Blue-and-Gold Macaw
South America
Social, loud, intelligent
Scarlet Macaw
Central & South America
Bold, vocal, active
Hyacinth Macaw
Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay
Gentle giant, powerful beak
Green-Winged Macaw
South America
Calmer than scarlet, affectionate
Military Macaw
Mexico to Argentina
Social, trainable, loud
Red-and-Green Macaw
South America
Active, vocal, pair-bonded
Blue-Throated Macaw
Bolivia
Rare, social, endangered
Lear's Macaw
Brazil
Endangered, colony-nesting
Great Green Macaw
Central America
Shy, forest-dependent
Chestnut-Fronted Macaw
South America
Bold, mini-macaw energy
What WARN Does
WARN's in-network parrot focus is Colombia and Brazil, where it funds partner rescue and rehabilitation centres for triage capacity, aviary infrastructure, and soft-release programmes, and supports customs-detection training to improve interception rates at key border points. Other macaw range states feature as wider search context.
When a trafficked macaw is intercepted at a Colombian or Brazilian port, the hard part has only just begun — weeks of rehydration, quarantine and flight reconditioning before any bird can be assessed for soft-release, plus permanent aviary care for imprinted birds that can never go home. WARN funds the partner reception centres in macaw range countries that do exactly this work, so a gift helps keep a triage place open for the next confiscation.
Macaw: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most trafficked bird in the world?
Why do so many macaws die in the illegal trade?
Can confiscated macaws be returned to the wild?
Is it legal to own a macaw?
Which macaw species are most at risk?
What is the largest macaw, and the largest parrot, in the world?
How long do macaws live?
Why do macaws gather at clay licks?
Sources & References
Population figures, conservation status and biological facts on this page are drawn from authoritative scientific and intergovernmental sources.
- IUCN Red List — Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii)
- IUCN Red List — Hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)
- BirdLife DataZone — Hyacinth Macaw factsheet
- Wikipedia — Lear's macaw (ICMBio census data)
- Wikipedia — Macaw (taxonomy and genera)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Macaw
- Animal Diversity Web — Ara macao (scarlet macaw)
Related Rescue Guides
Focused answers for people searching how macaw rescue works in high-need regions.
Colombia · Illegal bird trade
Parrot Trafficking in Colombia
Parrot trafficking in Colombia targets chicks and adult birds for the illegal pet trade; rescue depends on fast triage, quarantine, flight rehabilitation and carefully managed soft release.
Wildlife trafficking · Release method
Parrot Soft Release
Parrot soft release is a gradual return to the wild where rescued birds rebuild flight, social and foraging skills before release with monitoring and temporary support.
Anti-trafficking · Wildlife crime
Donate to Stop Wildlife Trafficking
You can donate to stop wildlife trafficking through WARN — gifts fund partner-led customs detection support, live-seizure veterinary triage, quarantine and sanctuary placement for pangolins, parrots, big cats and exotic pets across the 17-country partner network.
Occasion giving · Animal lovers
Charity Gift for an Animal Lover
A charity gift for an animal lover through WARN is symbolic adoption from £5/month at /adopt — choose dog, cat, elephant, tiger, orangutan, macaw, pangolin or sea turtle, with a gift certificate emailed on request and honest programme framing that funds partner-led rescue abroad.
Occasion giving · Christmas
Christmas Animal Charity Gift
A Christmas animal charity gift through WARN is symbolic adoption from £5/month at /adopt — choose a species programme, complete checkout, email WARN for a holiday gift certificate, with honest framing that funds partner-led rescue abroad rather than a pet under the tree.
UK donors · Macaw sponsorship
Sponsor a Macaw from the UK
You can sponsor a macaw from the UK through WARN from £5/month at /adopt/macaw — sponsorship funds seizure triage, aviary rehabilitation and customs interdiction for parrots rescued from the illegal pet trade in Colombia and Brazil, not ownership of a named individual bird.
US donors · Macaw sponsorship
Sponsor a Macaw from the United States
You can sponsor a macaw from the US through WARN from $5/month at /adopt/macaw — sponsorship funds seizure triage, aviary rehabilitation and customs interdiction in Colombia and Brazil, not ownership of a named individual bird.
UK donors · Symbolic macaw adoption
Adopt a Macaw from the UK
You can adopt a macaw from the UK through WARN's symbolic adoption from £5/month at /adopt/macaw — your gift funds seizure triage, aviary rehabilitation and soft release for parrots rescued from the illegal trade in Colombia and Brazil, not ownership of a named individual bird.
US donors · Symbolic macaw adoption
Adopt a Macaw from the United States
You can adopt a macaw from the US through WARN's symbolic adoption from $5/month at /adopt/macaw — your gift funds seizure triage and rehabilitation for parrots rescued from the illegal trade in Colombia and Brazil, not ownership of a named individual bird.
Terms used on this page
Plain-English definitions, from our wildlife and conservation glossary.
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