Military Macaw, Ara militaris

Military Macaw, Ara militaris. Photograph taken in the greater Puerto Vallarta area, Guerrero, March 2014. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Military Macaw, Ara militaris. Photographs taken in Copala, Sinaloa, February 2019 and April 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

The Military Macaw, Ara militaris, is a member of the Psittacidae Family of New World and African Parrots. They are mid-sized in stature. In Mexico they have fragment distributions with population being found historically within the Atlantic Slope from the eastern parts of the States of Nuevo Leon and San Luis Potosi to the Gulf of Mexico and within the Pacific Slope from Sonora to Oaxaca at elevations between 600 m (2,000 feet) and 2,600 m (8,500 feet). From a conservation perspective the Military Macaw is currently considered to be VULNERABLE with large decreases in their populations attributed to habitat destruction and illegal harvesting by the pet trade. They are found in lowland humid areas in evergreen and tropical deciduous forests, gallery woodland and pine-oak forests. They consume seasonal fruits, latex, leaves, and seeds.