The blue-throated macaw, also known as the Caninde macaw or Wagler's macaw, is a macaw endemic to a small area of north-central Bolivia, known as Los Llanos de Moxos. In 2014 this species was designated by law as a natural patrimony of Bolivia.
Blue-Throated Macaw habitat map.Blue-throated macaws are herbivores (frugivores) and eat primarily fruit from large palms. They eat the mesocarp from ripe and nearly ripe fruit and also drink the liquid from very immature fruit.
Habitat and diet. Blue-throated macaws are geographically isolated and only found in northern Bolivia, where there are two subpopulations spread across 3,320 square miles of savanna. Their precise locations and habits are still somewhat of a mystery.
Blue-throated Macaws live only in one very specific, and relatively inaccessible, ecoregion the Beni Savanna in north-central Bolivia. The Beni is an expansive tropical grassland dotted with palm-dominated forest islandsand characterized by seasonal patterns of flooding and a severe dry season.
Blue-throated macaws have a tiny range limited to the Bolivian Pantanal, a seasonal flood plain in the Beni province (Northern Bolivia). Biologists only recently observed them for the first time. The wild population is very small. Probably only 100 to 1000 individuals remain in the wild.
Blue-throated macaws are only found in a small area of Bolivia known as Los Llanos de Moxos. This unique habitat is an expanse of lush plains and marshland dotted with 'islands' of trees, which flood seasonally. It's also home to giant Amazon river otters and Bolivian river dolphins!
Blue-throated Macaws (Ara glaucogularis) are native to north-central Bolivia and are found only in seasonally flooded savannahs and elevated palm islands.
Most of blue-throated macaws' habitat is used for cattle ranching. However, the land is unsuitable for cultivation, so habitat alteration for agricultural use does not occur. Although cattle will trample saplings, mature Motac palms are very hardy and resist damage.
Blue-throated macaws are often called barba azul in Spanish, meaning blue beard, because of the bright blue coloration covering their throats. They play an important role in the ecosystem as seed dispersers.
