Spix’s macaw

Description

Spix's macaw is easy to identify being the only small blue macaw and also by the bare grey facial skin of its lores and eyerings.It is about 56 cm (22 in) long including tail length of 26–38 cm (10–15 in).It has a wing length of 24.7–30.0 cm (9.7–11.8 in).The external appearance of adult male and female are identical;however,the average weight of captive males is about 318 g (11.2 oz) and captive females average about 288 g (10.2 oz).Its plumage is grey-blue on the head,pale blue on the underparts,and vivid blue on the upperparts,wings and tail.The legs and feet are brownish-black.In adults the bare facial skin is grey,the beak is entirely dark grey,and the irises are yellow.Juveniles are similar to adults,but the bare facial skin is pale grey,the irises are brown,and they have a white stripe along the center of the top of the beak (along the culmen)