Rarest true macaw in the wild

The rarest species of true macaw (i.e., belonging to the genus Ara) in the wild is the blue-throated macaw Ara glaucogularis, confined to Los Llanos de Moxos, a small locality in northern Bolivia. It is also known as the caninde or Wagler's macaw, and following recent surveys of this species in the wild by the Armonia Association and the Loro Parque Fundacionis an earlier total number estimate of 110–130 individuals has been increased to 350–400, but it remains categorized by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, and is confined to a specially designated blue-throated macaw reserve currently occupying just over 4,600 hectares (11,366 acres) of land. Fortunately, an additional 1,000–1,100 specimens exist in captivity around the world.

The blue-throated macaw was once classified as conspecific with the slightly larger and much more familiar blue-and-yellow macaw A. ararauna. However, it can be readily distinguished from the latter species by its blue throat (black in the latter), its blue crown (green in the latter) and its smaller size, as well as its much more restricted distribution (the latter is found throughout much of northern South America as well as in southernmost Central America, and until quite recently on Trinidad too).