Blue-throated macaw

How it was counted

The number is a survey estimate with a range, not a head count: 623 at the low end and 785 at the high end. It counts birds (not pairs or nests) and covers the whole wild population.

An estimate with a range, not a head count: about 623 to 785 birds across the whole wild population.

What moves it

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund's case study names savanna fires as a returning and growing threat, which Asociación Armonía links to climate change. It also names the trapping of wild birds for illegal trade (largely dealt with, Armonía says) and habitat lost in the past to cattle ranching that was not sustainable.

• trapping for the illegal bird trade, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, which Armonía says has been largely addressed. Source: Asociación Armonía.
• habitat loss from unsustainable cattle ranching (historic). Source: Asociación Armonía.
• savanna fires, a recurring and increasing threat that Armonía links to climate change. Source: Asociación Armonía.

Who is helping

Asociación Armonía runs a nest-box programme at the Laney Rickman Reserve, where chicks reared in its boxes have fledged.

The next count

The count is repeated about every ten years (systematic censuses 2015 and 2025). No date for the next count is known as of 12 November 2026.

Sources

• Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, case study of Asociación Armonía's 2025 census (grant 252537867) Last checked 12 November 2026.

• Asociación Armonía

  • Why Population Estimate Studies are Important: Summary of the Blue-throated Macaw Study, Armonia Bolivia Last checked 12 November 2026.
  • 2025 Interim Report Barba Azul Nature Reserve Last checked 12 November 2026.
  • 2025 Nestbox program Laney Rickman Reserve Last checked 12 November 2026.

What changed

• 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): 623 to 785 (Estimate, with range, 2025).

Every change on the site