OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH ILLIGER’S MACAWS, otherwise
known as Blue-winged Macaws, began in the late 1980s, when
we saw our fi rst specimens in a private collection during a visit
to Melbourne. The intriguing thing about them was that they
didn’t appear to be noisy like the other mini macaws, and their
nature appeared to be somewhat different. While not startling in
appearance, they are quite pretty when housed, cared for and fed
correctly, with some individuals carrying more colour in certain
areas than others.
DESCRIPTION
Illiger’s Macaws have a mainly green plumage, are about 42cm in
length, with the usual long macaw tail that is often longer than their
body, and a strongly shaped black beak. The upper side of the fl ight
feathers and primary coverts are blue, hence the species’ other
name. Their cheeks and crown have a bluish tinge, occasionally
darker on some individuals, and the forehead has a red patch. This,
Illiger’s Macaws—
male and female (top)AUTHOR AND IMAGES GRAHAM & GLENYS MATTHEWSP ODEKERKENalong with the red area on the lower belly, often varies in size and
intensity. The base of their tail, lower abdomen and lower back
are a red-to-maroon colour. As with all macaws, they have a bare,
yellow-white facial skin area, and their iris is amber.WILD HABITAT
The Illiger’s Macaw’s natural habitat in South America is
evergreen and deciduous forests, but they prefer forests along the
banks of rivers and streams. Unfortunately, their range is reducing
rapidly with the ongoing clearing of land, but they can currently
be found in central, eastern and western Brazil, eastern Paraguay,
eastern Bolivia and the far north-eastern tip of Argentina. There is
also a remnant population in north-east Brazil.
Conservation status as listed by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on their Red List of Threatened
Species is Near Threatened, which means likely to become
endangered in the near future.the Ultimate
Mini Macaw