The Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna), also known as the Blue-and-Gold Macaw, is a large blue (top parts) and yellow (under parts) South American parrot, a member of the large group of Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It inhabits forest (especially varzea, but also in open sections of terra firme (non-flooded forest)) and woodland of tropical South America. There has been a small breeding population in Miami-Dade County, Florida, since the middle 1980s. They are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans.