periods of breeding. Scarlet macaws are monogamous birds, with individuals remaining with one partner throughout their lives. The hen lays two or three white eggs in a large tree cavity. The female incubates the eggs for about five weeks, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 90 days after hatching and leave their parents about a year later. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at five years of age. Distribution and habitat The South American range is extensive and covers the Amazon forest, extending to Peru east of the Andes, to Bolivia. In Bolivia, it is very present in the Aquicuana Reserve, located in the Beni Department, near the city of Riberalta, the Capital of the Bolivian Amazon. In Central America, the range extends from extreme eastern and southern Mexico and Panama through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize, the island of Coiba and infrequently on the mainland of Panama, and in Costa Rica in isolated regions on the Pacific Coast; the Nicoya Peninsula the Carara National Park and Peninsula de Osa. The scarlet macaw has escaped or been deliberately released in to Florida, but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes. Scarlet macaws inhabit humid lowland subtropical rain forests, open woodlands, river edges, and savannas. Conservation status The habitat of scarlet macaws is also considered to have the greatest latitudinal range for any bird in the genus Ara, as the estimated maximum territorial range covers 6,700,000 km2. Nevertheless, the scarlet macaw's habitat is fragmented, and the bird is mostly confined to tiny populations scattered throughout its original range in Middle America. However, as they still occur in large numbers over most of their original range in South America, the species is classified by IUCN as least concern. Its wild population is currently estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 individuals. Commercial international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) is prohibited by the bird's listing under CITES Appendix 1 due to predation for the pet and cage bird trade. The northern subspecies, A. m. cyanopterus, is listed as endangered by the USFWS. The USFWS estimates that only 2,000–3,000 birds of the northern subspecies remain in the wild. Aviculture The scarlet macaw is an early example of a parrot breeding in captivity. Captive breeding occurred in Northern Mexico at Paquime (also called Casas Grandes) and very likely Southwest New Mexico