Military Macaw in Sierra de Huautla, Morelos, Mexico

The Military Macaw (Ara militaris) is not considered within the avifauna of Morelos due to a lack of solid evidence confirming the presence of the species in the state. We conducted systematic surveys from elevated viewpoints in the tropical dry forest of the Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve from August to December 2017 and 2020-2022 to confirm the presence of the Military Macaw in the reserve. We obtained 36 records of the Military Macaw, with photographic evidence, and observed a mean of 10.0 ± 11.2 macaws per record, registering flocks of 32-39 individuals on three occasions. We identified sites within the reserve that Military Macaws recurrently used for resting, foraging, and roosting. We also observed macaws foraging in three tree species, with another six plant species reported in the diet by local people. We could not confirm nesting by macaws in the reserve as observations were conducted outside the breeding season. Some sightings occurred outside the biosphere reserve, in an area of the Mixteca Baja Poblana (Puebla) proposed as a new protected area. Our findings provide the first systematic and photographic evidence of the presence of the Military Macaw in Morelos state, confirm the relevance and effectivity of the Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve for regional conservation of the species and the tropical dry forest, and provide additional support for the proposal to create a new protected area and conservation corridor in the Balsas Basin that could benefit the conservation of this endangered bird species.