Great green macaw

Ara ambiguus

The Great green macaw (Ara ambiguus) is a bird found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Lowland rainforest from Honduras to Ecuador. It eats fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Critically Endangered.

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Scientific name	Ara ambiguus
Region	South America
Found in	Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador

🏡 Where the Great green macaw lives

Lowland rainforest from Honduras to Ecuador.

🍽️ What it eats

🍎 Fruit50%
🌰 Seeds & nuts50%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Critically EndangeredAlmost gone from the wild.

💡 It needs big almendro trees for food and for nesting.

Questions about the Great green macaw

Where does the Great green macaw live?

The Great green macaw lives in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Lowland rainforest from Honduras to Ecuador.

What does the Great green macaw eat?

fruit (about 50%), seeds and nuts (about 50%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Great green macaw endangered?

Almost gone from the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Critically Endangered.

More birds from South America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.