Red-shouldered Macaw
Hahn's/Noble Macaws Diopsittaca nobilis

The Red-shouldered Macaw is native to northern South America. It has been moved from the "Ara" group of large macaws to its own group. It is the smallest macaw.

It has two subspecies: Hahn's Macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis nobilis) shown above left, and the Noble Macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis cumanensis) above right. Both have a blue brow, mainly green plumage, white facial skin and, as their name indicates, red on the shoulders. The Hahn's subspecies has a mainly black upper beak while the Noble subspecies has a light-coloured upper beak.

The Noble subspecies above with its black lower beak but light-coloured upper beak, showing its red shoulder and gold underwing and undertail.

The Hahn's subspecies above with its black lower beak and two-tone grey-black upper beak, showing red shoulder and gold undertail.

The red "shoulders" on both subspecies are not always visible.