The Arecaceae is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially called palm trees. Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, arranged at the top of an unbranched stem, except for the Hyphaene genus, who has branched palms. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts.
Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the tribe Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild.
The palm cockatoo, also known as the goliath cockatoo or great black cockatoo, is a large, smoky-grey/black parrot of the cockatoo family native to New Guinea, the Aru Islands and the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. It has a crest of long feathers atop its head, with a very large and strong, sharply-hooked black beak, and prominent bright-red cheek patches.
Spix's macaw, also known as the little blue macaw, is a macaw species that was endemic to Brazil. It is a member of tribe Arini in the subfamily Arinae, part of the family Psittacidae. It was first described by German naturalist Georg Marcgrave, when he was working in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil in 1638 and it is named for German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix, who collected a specimen in 1819 on the bank of the Rio São Francisco in northeast Bahia in Brazil. This bird has been completely extirpated from its natural range, and following a several-year survey, the IUCN officially declared it extinct in the wild in 2019. However, after over 20 years of conservation efforts, 200 macaws have been bred from just two parent birds, and 52 individual birds have since been reintroduced into their natural environment in June 2022.
Anodorhynchus is a genus of large blue macaws from open and semi-open habitats in central and eastern South America. It includes two extant species, the hyacinth macaw and Lear's macaw also known as the indigo macaw, and one probably extinct species, the glaucous macaw. At about 100 centimetres (39 in) in length the hyacinth macaw is the longest parrot in the world. Glaucous and Lear's macaws are exclusively cliff nesters; hyacinth macaws are mostly tree nesters. The three species mainly feed on the nuts from a few species of palms.
The glaucous macaw is a critically endangered or possibly extinct species of large, blue and grey South American parrot, a member of a large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. This macaw is closely related to Lear's macaw and the hyacinth macaw. In Guaraní, it is called guaa-obi after its vocalizations.
The scarlet macaw is a large yellow, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas. Its range extends from southeastern Mexico to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Honduras, and Brazil in lowlands of 500 m (1,600 ft) up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as well as the Pacific island of Coiba. Formerly, the northern extent of its range included southern Tamaulipas. In some areas, it has suffered local extinction because of habitat destruction, or capture for the parrot trade, but in other areas, it remains fairly common. It is the national bird of Honduras. Like its relative the blue-and-yellow macaw, the scarlet macaw is a popular bird in aviculture as a result of its striking plumage. It is the third most common macaw species in captivity after the Blue and Gold and Greenwing Macaw respectively. In recent years it has become much rarer in captivity and much more expensive due to its placement on CITES Appendix I.
Lear's macaw, also known as the indigo macaw, is a large all-blue Brazilian parrot, a member of a large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. It was first described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. Lear's macaw is 70–75 cm long and weighs around 950 g. It is coloured almost completely blue, with a yellow patch of skin at the base of the heavy, black bill.
The blue-and-yellow macaw, also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large Neotropical parrot with a mostly blue dorsum, light yellow/orange venter, and gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. It inhabits forest, woodland and savannah of tropical Central and South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. They are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans. It is the most commonly kept macaw species in captivity worldwide as a pet or companion parrot and is also the cheapest among the large macaws. As of 2025, there are 1 million blue and gold macaws living in captivity worldwide, one of the highest population of any large parrot in captivity, such is the popularity of this bird.
The hyacinth macaw, or hyacinthine macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length of about one meter it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species; the flightless kākāpō of New Zealand outweighs it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it could be confused with the smaller Lear's macaw. Habitat loss and the trapping of wild birds for the pet trade have taken a heavy toll on their population in the wild, so the species is classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, and it is protected by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The blue-throated macaw, also known as the Caninde macaw or Wagler's macaw, is a macaw endemic to a small area of north-central Bolivia, known as Los Llanos de Moxos. In 2014 this species was designated by law as a natural patrimony of Bolivia. Until 2010, it was hunted by native people to make feathered "Moxeño" headdresses for "machetero" ritual dances.
Flamingo Gardens is a 60-acre (24 ha) botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary, located just west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and north of Miami at 3750 South Flamingo Road, Davie, Florida, United States. It is open to the public for a fee.
The red-bellied macaw, also known as Guacamaya Manilata, is a medium-sized, mostly green parrot, a member of a group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It is the largest of what are commonly called "mini-macaws". The belly has a large maroon patch which gives the species its name.
Syagrus is a genus of Arecaceae (palms), native to South America, with one species endemic to the Lesser Antilles. The genus is closely related to the Cocos, or coconut genus, and many Syagrus species produce edible seeds similar to the coconut.
The regent parrot or rock pebbler is a bird found in southern Australia. It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as in a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia. Seeds make up the bulk of its diet.
The great green macaw, also known as Buffon's macaw or the great military macaw, is a critically endangered Central and South America parrot found in Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Two allopatric subspecies are recognized; the nominate subspecies, Ara ambiguus ssp. ambiguus, occurs from Honduras to Colombia, while Ara ambiguus ssp. guayaquilensis appears to be endemic to remnants of dry forests on the southern Pacific coast of Ecuador. The nominate subspecies lives in the canopy of wet tropical forests and in Costa Rica is usually associated with the almendro tree, Dipteryx oleifera.
Syagrus romanzoffiana, the queen palm, cocos palm or Jerivá, is a palm native to South America, introduced throughout the world as a popular ornamental garden tree. S. romanzoffiana is a medium-sized palm, quickly reaching maturity at a height of up to 15 m (49 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves having as many as 494 pinnae (leaflets), although more typically around 300, each pinna being around 50 centimetres (18 in) in length and 3–5 centimetres (1–2 in) in width.
Butia eriospatha is a small species of Butia palm endemic to the highlands of southern Brazil. It is very similar to B. odorata, but is easily distinguished from this species by the distinct spathes which are densely covered in rust-coloured, woolly hairs. Indeed, the specific epithet is derived from Greek ἔριον, wool, and Latin spatha, which refers to the spathe. It has been given the name woolly jelly palm (UK) or wooly jelly palm (US) in English. Vernacular names for it where it is native are butiá-da-serra, butiázeiro, butiá-veludo, butiábutiá verdadeiro, butiá-do-campo, yatáy and macumá.
Butia yatay, the jelly palm or yatay palm, is a Butia palm native to southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina. It is known as the butiá-jataí in Portuguese in the south of Brazil, as well as simply jataí or butiá. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental in Europe and the United States. It is the tallest of all the species in the genus Butia. The fruit is edible with a sweet flavour.
The Serra Branca / Raso da Catarina Environmental Protection Area is an environmental protection area in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Its sandstone cliffs are home to the endangered Lear's macaw.
