The red-shouldered macaw (''Diopsittaca nobilis'') is a small green South American

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called

macaws Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...

. The species is named for the red coverts on its wings. It is the smallest macaw, being in length – similar in size to the '' Aratinga'' parakeets. It is native to the tropical lowlands, savannah, and swamplands of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the

Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British Guiana, British, Surinam (Dutch colo ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and far south-eastern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. There are three subspecies: The noble macaw (''Diopsittaca nobilis cumanensis''), Hahn's macaw (''Diopsittaca nobilis nobilis''), and the long-winged macaw (''Diopsittaca nobilis longipennis''). The long-winged macaw is a poorly distinct third subspecies that has longer wings, but is otherwise similar to the noble macaw. The Hahn's subspecies is named for German zoologist Carl-Wilhelm Hahn, who in 1834 began compiling ''Ornithologischer Atlas oder naturgetreue Abbildung und Beschreibung der aussereuropäischen Vögel'' (Engl: Ornithological Atlas or natural depiction and description of birds from outside Europe). Red-shouldered macaws are frequently bred in captivity for the

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...

trade, where they are sometimes described as mini-macaws. Though wild populations of red-shouldered macaws have declined locally due to habitat loss, they are listed as Least Concern by IUCN. They are listed on Appendix II of

CITES CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

, trade restricted.

Taxonomy

The red-shouldered macaw was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

''. He placed it with all the other parrots in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Psittacus ''Psittacus'' is a genus of African grey parrots in the subfamily Psittacinae. It contains two species: the grey parrot (''Psittacus erithacus'') and the Timneh parrot (''Psittacus timneh''). For many years, the grey parrot and Timneh parrot we ...

'' and coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Psittacus nobilis''. The red-shouldered macaw is now the only species placed in the genus ''Diopsittaca'' that was introduced in 1912 by the American ornithologist

Robert Ridgway Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 – March 25, 1929) was an American ornithologist specializing in systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds ...

. The genus name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''dios'' meaning "noble" with ''psittakē'' meaning "parrot". The specific epithet ''noblilis'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

meaning "noble". There are two distinct subspecies, ''D. n. nobilis'' (Hahn's macaw) and ''D. n. cumanensis'' (noble macaw), and some with longer wings might represent a poorly differentiated subspecies, ''D. n. longipennis'', which intergrades with ''D. n. cumanensis'' in central

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, Brazil.Forshaw (2006). plate 73. The species is sometimes subsumed into the genus '' Ara''. Taxonomy proposed by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

splits the red-shouldered macaw into two species. * Northern red-shouldered macaw (''Diopsittaca nobilis'') * Southern red-shouldered macaw (''Diopsittaca cumanensis'')

Description

The red-shouldered macaw, at long and weight, is the smallest of all the macaws. Like all macaws, it has a long narrow tail and a large head. It has bright green feathers on the body, with dark or slate blue feathers on the head just above the beak. The wings and tail have feathers that are bright green above and olive-green below. The leading edges of the wings, especially on the underside, are red. (These red feathers appear at puberty.) Their eyes are orange, and the skin around the eyes is white without feathers, just as in the larger macaws. This bare patch of facial skin is smaller in proportion to the head than the one seen in most larger macaws. The Hahn's macaw and noble macaw can be distinguished by the Hahn's having a black upper mandible and the Noble's having a lighter, horn-colored upper mandible. Their natural vocalizations are more akin to screeches than they are to whistles.

Behavior

Red-shouldered macaws are very kind natured. Their personality is similar to the large macaws.

Breeding

The red-shouldered macaw nests in a hole in a tree. There are usually three or four white eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 24 to 26 days, and the chicks

fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between egg, hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnera ...

from the nest about 54 days after hatching.

Aviculture

Although a noisy bird that is not suitable for apartment living, the red-shouldered macaw can be an excellent pet. If properly socialized, it is typically a gentle, intelligent bird that bonds well with humans and gets on well with well-behaved children. In addition, it is an excellent talker that can be taught many tricks. It may be a more suitable pet parrot for those who lack the space in their homes for a larger macaw, although it requires daily exercise outside of its cage. It is also recommended by the World Parrot Trust that this parrot should have access to an outside enclosure for at least part of the year. The red-shouldered macaw can live for 25–40 years in captivity.

Gallery

Diopsittaca nobilis -Mato Grosso -Brazil -8.jpg, Noble macaws in Mato Grosso, Brazil Diopsittaca nobilis -two captive-8a.jpg, A pair of noble macaws in captivity Diopsittaca nobilis -Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil-8a.jpg, Noble macaw at Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

References

Cited texts

External links

*
AvianWeb - Macaw conservation status
{{Taxonbar, from=Q905913 Arini (tribe) Macaws Birds of South America Birds of Brazil Birds of Bolivia Birds of Peru Birds of Venezuela Birds of the Guiana Shield Birds of the Cerrado Birds of the Pantanal Talking birds Birds described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus