Blue-winged Macaw

Blue-winged Macaw

Primolius maracana

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Serra dos Órgãos National Park

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

233 Verified sightings at Serra dos Órgãos National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,189 In all 5 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Blue-winged Macaw

The blue-winged macaw (Primolius maracana), in aviculture more commonly known as Illiger's macaw, is a species of small macaw (sometimes called a mini-macaw) found in central and eastern South America. The second name is in honor of the German ornithologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger. It was previously placed in the genera Ara or Propyrrhura. Blue-winged macaws have been known to reach an age of 50–60 years.

It has a total length of approximately 36–43 cm (14–17 in). It has a moderately sized black bill, a long tail and a mainly green plumage. The upperside of the remiges and primary coverts are blue, as indicated by its common name. The underside of the wings is yellowish, the tail-tip, crown and cheeks are bluish, and the tail-base and small belly-patch are red. The iris is amber. It and the red-bellied macaw are the only macaws where the bare facial-skin is yellowish, but this often fades to white in captivity. Unlike the red-bellied macaw, the blue-winged has a red lower abdomen and a red lower back. In the wild, its flight pattern is said to be a distinctive 'jerky, rearing motion.'

The blue-winged macaw occurs in eastern and southern... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:36

Brazil · 2025

© Ricardo José Mitidieri · XC1009446 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:23

Brazil · 2022

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC754135 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:14

Brazil · 2004

© Brian Cox · XC727673 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
2 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
3 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
4 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Belém 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Vitória 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Parque das Aves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
2 Safari Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
3 Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
4 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
5 Wrocław Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
6 Gramado Zoo 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
7 Lisbon Zoo 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
8 Parc de l'Auxois 🇫🇷 France In captivity
9 Bosque Rodrigues Alves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
10 Zoo das Aves 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
11 Paphos Zoo 🇨🇾 Cyprus In captivity
12 Loro Parque 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
13 Adelaide Zoo 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
14 Mangal das Garças 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
15 Zoo Park da Montanha 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
16 Bird Park Steinen 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
17 Africarium 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
18 Parrot Zoo in Bošovice 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
19 Aquarium Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
20 Stadtvolière Lindengut Winterthur 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
21 terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-winged Macaw in Serra dos Órgãos National Park?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Macaw sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 233 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 58th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue-winged Macaw in Serra dos Órgãos National Park?

May–June and October

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Macaw in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Blue-winged Macaw?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-winged Macaw sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Serra dos Órgãos National Park the best place to see a Blue-winged Macaw?

Yes

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Blue-winged Macaw sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 30%) and Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (Brazil, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Blue-winged Macaw live in Serra dos Órgãos National Park?

Same family: Psittacidae

The closest relatives of the Blue-winged Macaw that you can see in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Plain Parakeet (about 70%), Maroon-bellied Parakeet (about 70%) and White-eyed Parakeet (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Blue-winged Macaw sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue-winged Macaw is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (233 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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