biology

Red-shouldered macaw

Red-shouldered macaw is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Red-shouldered macaw rather than just read about it. In short: The red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis) is a small green South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. The species is named for the red coverts on its wings.

Key takeaways

Red-shouldered macaw belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Red-shouldered macaw to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Red-shouldered macaw from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis) is a small green South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. The species is named for the red coverts on its wings. It is the smallest macaw, being 30 cm (12 in) in length – similar in size to the Aratinga parakeets. It is native to the tropical lowlands, savannahs, and swamplands of Brazil, the Guianas, Bolivia, Venezuela, and far south-eastern Peru. There are three subspecies: The noble macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis cumanensis), Hahn's macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis nobilis), and the long-winged macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis longipennis). The long-winged macaw is a poorly distinct third subspecies that has longer wings, but is otherwise similar to the noble macaw. The Hahn's subspecies is named for German zoologist Carl-Wilhelm Hahn, who in 1834 began compiling Ornithologischer Atlas oder naturgetreue Abbildung und Beschreibung der aussereuropäischen Vögel (Engl: Ornithological Atlas or natural depiction and description of birds from outside Europe). Red-shouldered macaws are frequently bred in captivity for the pet trade, where they are sometimes described as mini-macaws. Though wild populations of red-shouldered macaws have declined locally due to habitat loss, they are listed as Least Concern by IUCN. They are listed on Appendix II of CITES, and trade is restricted.

Taxonomy The red-shouldered macaw was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus nobilis. The red-shouldered macaw is now the only species placed in the genus Diopsittaca, which was introduced in 1912 by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek dios, "noble" with psittakē, meaning "parrot". The specific epithet noblilis is Latin meaning "noble". There are two distinct subspecies, D. n. nobilis (Hahn's macaw) and D. n. cumanensis (noble macaw), and some with longer wings might represent a poorly differentiated subspecies, D. n. longipennis, which intergrades with D. n. cumanensis in central Goiás, Brazil. The species is sometimes subsumed into the genus Ara. Taxonomy proposed by BirdLife International splits the red-shouldered macaw into two species.

Northern red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis) Southern red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca cumanensis)

Description The red-shouldered macaw, at 30 cm (12 in) long and 165 g (5.8 oz), is the smallest of all the macaws. Like all macaws, it has a long narrow tail and a large head. It has bright green feathers on the body, with dark or slate blue feathers on the head just above the beak. The wings and tail have feathers that are bright green above and olive-green below. The leading edges of the wings, especially on the underside, are red. (These red feathers appear at puberty.) Their eyes are orange, and the skin around the eyes is white without feathers, just as in the larger macaws. This bare patch of facial skin is smaller in proportion to the head than the one seen in most larger macaws. The Hahn's macaw and noble macaw can be distinguished by the upper mandible, which is black in the Hahn's macaw and horn-colored in the noble macaw. Their natural vocalizations are more akin to screeches than they are to whistles.

Behavior Red-shouldered macaws are very kind-natured, similar to the large macaws.

Breeding

The red-shouldered macaw nests in a hole in a tree. There are usually three or four white eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 24 to 26 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 54 days after hatching.

Aviculture Although a noisy bird that is not suitable for apartment living, the red-shouldered macaw can be an excellent pet. If properly socialized, it is typically a gentle, intelligent bird that bonds well with humans and gets along well with well-behaved children. In addition, it is an excellent talker that can be taught many tricks. It may be a more suitable pet parrot for those who lack the space in their homes for a larger macaw, although it requires daily exercise outside of its cage. It is also recommended by the World Parrot Trust that this parrot should have access to an outside enclosure for at least part of the year. The red-shouldered macaw can live for 25–40 years in captivity.

Gallery

References

Cited texts Forshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09251-6.

External links Media related to Diopsittaca nobilis at Wikimedia Commons AvianWeb - Macaw conservation status Explanation of CITES bird regulations Archived 12 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Red-shouldered macaw

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Red-shouldered macaw claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Red-shouldered macaw before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Red-shouldered macaw ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Red-shouldered macaw

In research: Red-shouldered macaw appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Red-shouldered macaw in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Red-shouldered macaw is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, Arini (tribe), Birds described in 1758, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Red-shouldered macaw outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Red-shouldered macaw in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Red-shouldered macaw means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Red-shouldered macaw out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Red-shouldered macaw in simple terms?

Why does Red-shouldered macaw matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Red-shouldered macaw?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Red-shouldered macaw.