Draft:Ara Macao Lilinidum

The Ara Macao Lilinidum, also known as the Lilypad Nester is a flightless tropical parrot of the Ara genus and closely related to Ara Macao Macao, or the Scarlet Macaw. It is found only in the rainforests of northern Brazil and has a closely related subspecies found in New Zealand, the Ara Macao Vinenidium, or Vine Nester. It was formerly found as far as Mexico and Africa, though it has suffered local extinction in some areas because of capture for the parrot trade and deforestation, but it is still found in abundance in Brazil and New Zealand. It is a common bird to keep for its eggs, of which have a green and red speckled appearance and a sweet flavor when cooked. A. M. Lilinidum was first formally described in the 17th century by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in his tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the name Amazona Lilinidum, and was changed to the genus Ara in the late 20th century after DNA analysis suggested that A. M. Lilinidum was more closely related to A. M. Macao rather than other parrot species in the genus Amazona. Despite being formally described in the 17th century, records of this bird date back to ancient Norte Chico in murals and art found on the side of architectural ruins. The Lily Pad Nester is about 40 cm tall (about 15 inches) and weighs 5.4 kilograms (12 pounds). Its wingspan ranges from 146 to 152 cm (roughly 60 inches) despite being unable to take flight. Scientists theorize that the Lily Pad Nester has such a large wingspan because it branched off from the Scarlet macaw only 15,000 years ago, or that it uses its wings to glide from trees after hunting as it can glide on wind gusts up to 25 mph, somewhat akin to a bird with clipped wings. Its plumage is lime green with the feathers on its back and chest tipped with black and brown, and their beak is very sharp to cut through plant stems to build their nests. The Lily Pad Nester builds their nests on the tops of Giant Amazonian Lily Pads by hopping across them towards the farthest and largest lilies in the center of lakes and stagnant rivers with sticks and vines to weave together into a nest. They then climb Coccoloba Gigantifolia trees and bite off relatively large leaves, dragging them back across the lake to position them on the side of the nest to cover the nest from the sun and large hawks that would eat the bird themselves or their eggs. Lily Pad Nesters do not reproduce with other members of their species as they can asexually reproduce, leading them to be completely solitary animals, much unlike other parrot species as a whole who need lots of social interaction for healthy development. Once the egg hatches after a brooding period of two weeks, the mother only feeds on butterflies and other insects such as millipedes, centipedes, giant beetles, and small rodents like mice and rats. The mother bird does this so that the food they feed the chick is rich in protein to ensure quick growth. After eight to twelve weeks when the chest, wing and head feathers of the chick grow in, the adult Lily Pad Nester leaves the baby to fend for its own and builds another nest in a different body of water, rather than the standard of the chick leaving the nest like most other birds. Lily Pad Nesters are not known to lay more than one to three eggs per clutch, with even less surviving to adulthood due to the chicks commonly fighting and cannibalizing each other after the mother leaves, causing only one chick to survive. Though in 2017 in the BioPark of Rio located in Rio de Janeiro, there was a case of a Lily Pad Nester laying six eggs in a single clutch, breaking the previous record of four eggs laid within seventy two hours by a Lily Pad Nester. All eggs were taken to be incubated and hand raised to ensure the survival of all six eggs, and the mother was given “decoy eggs” to avoid her falling into a depression from the eggs being taken. Unfortunately, Lily Pad Nester and Vine Nester numbers have been steadily decreasing in the last twenty years, with their numbers estimated to have gone from 20,500 to 2,000 by the end of 2050, though their conservation status is still listed as near threatened in the CITES appendix.

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