Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)
About the Blue-and-yellow Macaw
The blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large Neotropical parrot with a mostly blue dorsum, light yellow/orange venter, and gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. It inhabits forest (especially varzea, but also in open sections of terra firme or unflooded forest), woodland, and savannah of tropical Central and South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. They are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans. It is the most commonly kept macaw species in captivity worldwide as a pet or companion parrot and is also the cheapest among the large macaws. As of 2025, there are 1 million blue and gold macaws living in captivity worldwide, one of the highest populations of any large parrot in captivity.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 191 recordings for this species: 15 CC BY-NC-SA · 8 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Chestnut-fronted MacawAra severusrecording
- Military MacawAra militarisrecording
- Scarlet MacawAra macaorecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.