Great green macaws travel long distances in large groups outside of the breeding season. Within the breeding season, they live in family groups of five to six individuals who patrol small home ranges within the forest and across open areas. They feed on nuts, seeds, fruits and flowers, including orchids.
Fun Fact – These birds lay up to 3 eggs per breeding season in the hollow cavities of mountain almond trees!
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Ecology
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Threats
The main cause of population decline is habitat loss; rapidly expanding road networks are making areas of the forest more accessible to humans, leading to an increase in deforestation for agriculture. Some wrongly believe great green macaws are a crop pest and shoot the birds to protect their livelihoods. Great green macaws are also captured as cagebirds because of their impressive colouring.
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Conservation
The World Land Trust have built artificial nests in protected areas in Ecuador to encourage natural breeding, and captive breeding has also begun in the country. Listing them as endangered in America has allowed CITES to be implemented, meaning that trade of the great green macaw is banned. The Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica also does community outreach to change attitudes towards these birds, as well as working to restore their natural habitats.
Nature’s SAFE stores samples from the great green macaw to safeguard their future and supplement ex-situ breeding in the case of further decline.
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Preserved January 2024
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