The Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys) Part II

Abstract

The Red-fronted Macaw (sometimes shortened to RFM here) was introduced into the U. S. from its native Bolivia in the early 1980s. It has only one fairly small area of habitat in Bolivia, unlike many other macaws which have widespread multiple locations. This fact creates a serious problem wherein the small current wild population is even more vulnerable to habitat destruction and environmental degradation.

The exact location of the habitat seems to be described differently in every reference. Forshaw (1) mentions nesting sites "in crevices in cliff faces" and "found on lower slopes of the eastern Andes." This would make a lot of sense because their flying ability is amazing. They seem to be able to hover like a hummingbird in an effortless manner of speed and maneuverability much like large swallows. Cliff and mountain dwellers would certainly need this kind of maneuverability. Abramson (2) locates them in south central Bolivia, but in any case, it is a very small area, and the bird numbers are miniscule. It seems to be agreed by all that their habitat is a subtropical area of different altitudes constituting a desert type flora.

It may also follow that this type of habitat would have much lower humidity than is ordinarily associated with "tropical" parrots. This needs to be considered in planning artificial incubation. This sort of desert-dwelling macaw will no doubt....