Ara (genus) - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The Ara macaws have a Neotropical distribution from Mexico to Argentina. The centre of Ara distribution is the Amazon Basin and the Panama–Colombia border region; each with as many as four species found together (marginally five where the Military Macaw approach the western Amazon). Seven species are found in Bolivia, but no single locality in that (or any other) country surpasses four species. The most widespread species, the Scarlet Macaw, is (or was) distributed throughout large parts of Central America and the Amazon. On the other hand the Blue-throated Macaw and the Red-fronted Macaw have tiny distributions in Bolivia. The overall range of many species and the genus as a whole has declined in historical times due to human activities. The Military Macaw is distributed from northern Mexico to northern Argentina, but the distribution is discontinuous, with populations in Mexico, a large gap, then a population in the Venezuelan Coastal Range and a population along the Andes from western Venezuela to northern Argentina. The Blue-and-yellow Macaw was expiated from Trinidad in the 1960s, as well as retreating from northern Argentina, and several species apparently went extinct in the islands of the Caribbean.

The Ara macaws are generally fairly adaptable in their habitat requirements; this reaches its extreme in the Scarlet Macaw, which as suggested in its widespread distribution, uses most habitat types from humid rainforest to open woodlands to savannah. The only requirement is sufficient large trees, which is where they obtain their food and breeding holes. The other species are slightly more narrow in their habitat choices, but the need for large trees is universal. The Blue-throated Macaw generally inhabits forest "islands" in the savanna, and the Red-fronted Macaw prefers arid scrub and cactus woodland.

Within their range, birds may travel widely seasonally in search of food. They do not undertake large scale migrations, but instead more local movements amongst a range of different habitats.