Ara rubrogenys

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PSITTACIFORMES	PSITTACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Ara rubrogenys

Species Authority:

Lafresnaye, 1847

Common Name/s:

English	–	Red-fronted Macaw
Spanish	–	Guacamayo de Cochabamba, Guacamayo Frentirroja

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Endangered C2a(i) ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Symes, A., Butchart, S.

Contributor/s:

Herzog, S., Rojas, A.

Justification:
This species has a very small and declining population. Conservative estimates of numbers suggest that all subpopulations are extremely small. It therefore qualifies as Endangered.

History:

2004	–	Endangered
2000	–	Endangered
1996	–	Endangered
1994	–	Endangered

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Ara rubrogenys is endemic to a small area on the east Andean slope of south-central Bolivia, from south Cochabamba and west Santa Cruz through north Chuquisaca to north-east Potosí. It is principally found in the valley systems of the ríos Grande, Mizque and Pilcomayo. It is locally common but declining, with the population variously estimated at 2,000-4,000 individuals in 1991-1992⁶, and as few as 1,000 in 1991². In the Caine valley (Cochabamba and Potosí) 40-100 indivuduals were considered resident and secure in 1989-1992, but only one was seen during five days fieldwork in 1995^4,6. Conservative estimates indicate there may now be fewer than 500 breeding pairs, although not all nesting colonies have yet been found, and there are additional non-breeding adults in any given year⁹.
Countries:	Native: Bolivia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Clarke and Duran Patiño (1991), Pitter and Christiansen (1995)
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Its original natural habitat is inter-Andean dry forest, but this has been degraded to thorn and cactus scrub by centuries (if not millennia) of human activity⁹ and it now inhabits subtropical, xerophytic thorny scrub with many cacti and scattered trees at 1,100-2,500 m, dispersing locally to 3,000 m. It nests and roosts on undisturbed, steep-sided river cliffs. Its diet includes seeds and fruit, but natural food sources are often scarce and birds feed extensively on crops, particularly groundnuts and unripe maize⁸. Egg-laying has been reported from November and exceptionally as late as April, with pairs fledging one, two or occasionally three offspring annually^5,9. Adults and their young remain on the breeding grounds until late March or early April⁹.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

Its original natural habitat is inter-Andean dry forest, but this has been degraded to thorn and cactus scrub by centuries (if not millennia) of human activity⁹ and it now inhabits subtropical, xerophytic thorny scrub with many cacti and scattered trees at 1,100-2,500 m, dispersing locally to 3,000 m. It nests and roosts on undisturbed, steep-sided river cliffs. Its diet includes seeds and fruit, but natural food sources are often scarce and birds feed extensively on crops, particularly groundnuts and unripe maize⁸. Egg-laying has been reported from November and exceptionally as late as April, with pairs fledging one, two or occasionally three offspring annually^5,9. Adults and their young remain on the breeding grounds until late March or early April⁹.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Its original natural habitat is inter-Andean dry forest but this has been degraded to thorn and cactus scrub by centuries (if not millennia) of highly unsustainable human activities, nowadays mainly overgrazing by goats, firewood cutting and charcoal production⁹. An estimated 40% of natural vegetation in valleys within its range had been converted to agriculture by 1991, with other areas degraded by intense grazing. Several important food trees are harvested for fuel and charcoal. As food plants are lost, agricultural land is used more, thereby increasing the species's exposure to persecution as a crop-pest, and the use of firearms for pest control has been recorded¹. Illegal trapping continues, but has been reduced as a result of legal protection^5,6,10,11. The majority of the Bolivian parrot trade is domestic but more valuable threatened species end up in Peru or further afield. 26 Red-fronted Macaws were recorded passing through the Los Pozos pet market, Santa Cruz between August 2004-July 2005, and there are four other wildlife markets in the city and others in Cochabamba, suggesting this figure may only represent a small proportion of birds illegally trafficked in the country¹¹.

Major Threat(s):

Its original natural habitat is inter-Andean dry forest but this has been degraded to thorn and cactus scrub by centuries (if not millennia) of highly unsustainable human activities, nowadays mainly overgrazing by goats, firewood cutting and charcoal production⁹. An estimated 40% of natural vegetation in valleys within its range had been converted to agriculture by 1991, with other areas degraded by intense grazing. Several important food trees are harvested for fuel and charcoal. As food plants are lost, agricultural land is used more, thereby increasing the species's exposure to persecution as a crop-pest, and the use of firearms for pest control has been recorded¹. Illegal trapping continues, but has been reduced as a result of legal protection^5,6,10,11. The majority of the Bolivian parrot trade is domestic but more valuable threatened species end up in Peru or further afield. 26 Red-fronted Macaws were recorded passing through the Los Pozos pet market, Santa Cruz between August 2004-July 2005, and there are four other wildlife markets in the city and others in Cochabamba, suggesting this figure may only represent a small proportion of birds illegally trafficked in the country¹¹.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway CITES Appendix I and II. Its capture, transport and export is prohibited under Bolivian law³, although this is not effectively enforced¹¹. In 1992, 5,000 posters urging the protection of macaws and their habitat were made and apparently well received throughout the region. Non-breeding birds occur in the southern edge of Amboro National Park⁹. Armonía has a long-term conservation project on the Rio Mizque working with three subsistence farming communities to protect breeding cliffs with 20-25 active nests. An ecotourism lodge was inaugurated here in 2006 with proceeds going to the local communities, and it is planned to establish a protected area at this site⁹. Conservation Actions Proposed Continue surveying and monitoring^2,7. Fence key patches of gallery forest to limit cattle-grazing and permit vegetation to regenerate⁷. Effectively enforce trade laws¹¹. Organise awareness campaigns². Identify suitable sites for protected areas within rio Grande and rio Pilcomayo drainages.⁸

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix I and II. Its capture, transport and export is prohibited under Bolivian law³, although this is not effectively enforced¹¹. In 1992, 5,000 posters urging the protection of macaws and their habitat were made and apparently well received throughout the region. Non-breeding birds occur in the southern edge of Amboro National Park⁹. Armonía has a long-term conservation project on the Rio Mizque working with three subsistence farming communities to protect breeding cliffs with 20-25 active nests. An ecotourism lodge was inaugurated here in 2006 with proceeds going to the local communities, and it is planned to establish a protected area at this site⁹.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue surveying and monitoring^2,7. Fence key patches of gallery forest to limit cattle-grazing and permit vegetation to regenerate⁷. Effectively enforce trade laws¹¹. Organise awareness campaigns². Identify suitable sites for protected areas within rio Grande and rio Pilcomayo drainages.⁸

Citation:	BirdLife International 2008. Ara rubrogenys. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 May 2012.
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