• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: #http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm#.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
A4abcd	A4abcd; C1+2a(ii)	A4abcd; C1+2a(i,ii); D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Critically Endangered	A4abcd
2016	Endangered	A2cd+3cd+4cd
2013	Endangered	A2cd+3cd+4cd
2012	Endangered	A2cd+3cd+4cd
2008	Endangered	A2c,d; A3c,d; A4c,d
2005	Endangered
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land mass type	land-mass type - continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	1,100,000	medium
Number of locations		-
Severely Fragmented		-

	Value	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals	500-1000	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	poor	estimated	-
Decline (3 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (5 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation future)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future)	80-99	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	6	-	-	-
Percentage in largest subpopulation	1-89	-	-	-
Generation length (yrs)	11.2	-	-	-

Population justification: The species has a disjunct range and localised distribution. The population in Honduras currently numbers c. 400 individuals (H. O. Portillo Reyes per S. Nazeri in litt. 2020), which roughly equates to 260 mature individuals. The population in northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua numbered less than 200 individuals, equating to c. 130 mature individuals, in 2019 (Macaw Recovery Network 2019). In Ecuador, the species occurs in two disjunct subpopulations, with a total of up to 50-70 individuals, equating to 35-50 mature individuals, in 2020 (M. Moens per S. Nazeri in litt. 2020). In 2014, the population in Colombia was estimated at up to 1,700 mature individuals (Botero-Delgadillo and Páez 2011; Renjifo et al. 2014); however this is now considered an overestimate, with the true population size closer to 100 mature individuals (Fundación ProAves in litt. 2020). For Panama, recent population data is not available (B. Schmitt per S. Nazeri in litt. 2020). Based on these national numbers, the global population is now estimated to number at least 525 mature individuals; to account for uncertainty and an additional population in southern Panama, the global population is here placed in the band 500-1,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The species is undergoing a decline caused by habitat destruction and capture for the cagebird trade. While the overall population in Ecuador numbered c. 60-90 individuals in 2002, it declined to 50-70 in 2020 (Benítez et al. 2002; E. Horstman and M. Moens per S. Nazeri in litt. 2020). This equates to a rate of decline of 34% over three generations for the national population in Ecuador. The subpopulation in Nicaragua and Costa Rica numbered 834 individuals in 2009, but was estimated at only up to 200 individuals in 2019 (Monge et al. 2010; Macaw Recovery Network 2019). This equates to a decline of 99% over three generations for Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Declines in Colombia further amount to at least 50-79% over three generations (Fundación ProAves in litt. 2020). There is no information on the rate of population changes in Honduras and Panama. In view of the threats that the species is facing, it is highly likely that the species is also undergoing rapid declines in these countries. Overall, the global population is estimated to decline at 80-99% over three generations.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding	Non-breeding	Passage
Colombia	extant	native	yes
Costa Rica	extant	native	yes
Ecuador	extant	native	yes
Honduras	extant	native	yes
Nicaragua	extant	native	yes
Panama	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Colombia	Paramillo Natural National Park
Colombia	Parque Nacional Natural Ensenada de Utría
Colombia	Parque Nacional Natural Los Katíos
Costa Rica	Arenal-Monteverde
Costa Rica	Cahuita, Gandoca-Manzanillo and Migratory Bird Corridor
Costa Rica	Caribbean lowlands and wetlands
Costa Rica	Central Volcanic Cordillera
Costa Rica	La Amistad Caribe
Ecuador	Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco
Ecuador	Cayapas-Santiago-Wimbí
Ecuador	Territorio Étnico Awá y alrededores
Ecuador	Verde-Ónzole-Cayapas-Canandé
Honduras	Patuca
Honduras	Rio Platano
Honduras	Tawahka
Nicaragua	Bluefields Bay and adjacent landscape
Nicaragua	Bosawas
Nicaragua	Indio Maíz
Nicaragua	Miskito Keys and terrestrial landscape
Nicaragua	Musun Hill
Nicaragua	Prinzapolka/Alamikamba Rivers
Nicaragua	Punta Gorda
Nicaragua	San Juan River - La Inmaculada Concepcion de Maria
Nicaragua	Silva Hill
Nicaragua	Wawashan
Panama	Bagre Biological Corridor
Panama	Cerro Hoya National Park
Panama	Darién National Park
Panama	Golfo de los Mosquitos Forests
Panama	La Amistad International Park
Panama	Majé Hydrological Reserve
Panama	Narganá Wildlands Area
Panama	Serranía de Majé

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 1500 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Wood & pulp plantations - Agro-industry plantations	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Residential & commercial development	Commercial & industrial areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

Purpose	Primary form used	Life stage used	Source	Scale	Level	Timing
Food - human	-	-			non-trivial	recent
Pets/display animals, horticulture	-	-			non-trivial	recent

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Ara ambiguus. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/great-green-macaw-ara-ambiguus on 03/06/2023. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org on 03/06/2023.