Name: Luana

Breed: Black-tipped macaw

Age: 3

Parents: unknown

Siblings: unknown

Eye color: pale orange

Voice: Gal Costa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cik5yeTIWqI&list=FL2si4mdcJ09WOpyfL6Bzokg&index=10&feature=plpp_video)

Mate: none

Likes: flying, talking, hanging out with her friends, Carnaval, samba, singing, dancing, eating, sleeping, fruits, nuts, seeds, berries, preening herself, toucans, other macaws

Dislikes: people, rain, getting wet, getting clay or anything stuck on her beak

Personality: She is sensitive, serious but happy, and can be funny at times. She's friendly once you get to know her. She enjoys life, talking, and friends. She believes in the good times in every moment and around every corner.

History: She and her siblings hatched near the banks of the Amazon, in a tree far from any area of deforestation. She got along relatively well with her siblings. Over a month later, when they got their feathers, Luana and her siblings left the nest to find their own ways in life.

One day while Luana was out perched on a tree branch, a guided tour group came through, and one of the tourists took a picture of her.

July 8, 2008. A senior ornithologist at a major university was looking at pictures of birds on the Internet, when he came across one on Flickr that he wasn't familiar with, so he contacted his colleagues, who confirmed it was a new species of macaw. He later worked together with the photographer to write a paper on the discovery, naming the bird Ara bellaris, after the photographer, J.T. Bell.

Luana, unaware of her becoming major news, lived life as usual, eating, flying, sleeping, hanging out with her friends. Soon she noticed more people going through than usual: guided tour groups, biologists, and ornithologists, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the newly discovered species. Luana sometimes ventured close, but still kept her distance. Soon after them came others, looking for the macaw in hopes of introducing them as pets in the U.S. and other countries around the globe. Some macaws were captured, caged, and taken away. Since then, Luana has stayed away from people. She spends her days in Rio, avoiding people and hanging out with her friends.

Relation to Rio: Rafael and Eva are two of her friends, as well as Eva's brother and Blu's sister

*Speaks Portuguese, doesn't know much English

*Blu will be in Rio in about two years.

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Species info:

Scientific name: Ara bellaris

Maturity: 3-4 years

Weight: 0.9-1.3kg (2-3 lbs.)

Length: 76-86 cm (30-34 in.)

Wingspan:  about 4 ft.

Typical diet: seeds, leaves, fruit, nuts, nectar, flowers, berries; occasionally eats clay to aid digestion

Lifespan: unknown, but likely up to 50 yrs.