Animal Behavior:  Blue-and-yellow macaws are mainly found in pairs but can congregate in groups to form flocks. When in pairs, they fly close together with their wings almost touching. When foraging they may join small, noisy flocks during the early morning, but by midday they begin to search for shade. Blue-and-yellow macaws are extremely wary. At any sign of danger, they fly into the air screeching loudly.

 Eating Habits:  Blue-and-yellow macaws mainly eat seeds, nuts, and fruits. They use their strong beaks to break open nut shells and to crush seeds. In some cases, they consume clay found at riverbanks which allows them to digest the toxins from unripe seeds that they may have ingested.

Range:  Ara ararauna (blue-and-yellow macaws) can be found throughout subtropical and tropical forests, woodlands, and savannas in South America from Venezuela to Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. Blue-and-yellow macaws are also found in Mexico and are restricted to Panama in Central America.

Conservation Efforts:  The population trend is declining but not enough to reach vulnerable status. Populations are considered greater than 10,000 adult macaws and a decline of less than 10% over the past 10 years.

Animal Facts: Females lay 2 to 3 eggs and incubate them for 24 to 28 days, after which the young hatch blind and featherless.  The life span of blue-and-yellow macaws in the wild can be up to 50 years while their breeding age ranges from 30 to 35 years. They can also live up to 50 years in captivity.