Macaws
are represented by a variety of species including:
Blue
and Gold Macaw (Ara ararauna): Commonly kept in captivity
and understandably popular the Blue and Golds are playful,
fun loving birds. Their availability in captivity has erroneously
lead to the belief that they are unremarkable. Too often
they have been hybridized with other species. Perhaps the
most commonly available large macaw. Their personality is
ideal. They adapt easily to new surroundings. As with all
the large macaws they are highly sociable and quickly become
members of the family.
Greenwing Macaw (Ara chloroptera): Their name is
misleading as they are predominantly crimson red with a
band of green on the wing, and nearly as large as a Hyacinth.
The facial patch is traversed with red feathers which looks
like indian war paint. Not commonly bred in captivity, these
extremely intelligent birds are inquisitive about everything.
They are exceptionally interactive with people. The Greenwing
has only recently become readily available as pets. Wild
caught birds were difficult to breed and availability of
domestic bred babies has lagged behind the demand. They
are the smartest of the large macaws. Because of this, they
are prone to mischief. Extremely intelligent birds with
an ability to learn quickly. They are extremely socially
interactive in a variety of settings. Much larger than either
a Blue and Gold or a Scarlet Macaw. Along with the Buffon's
and Hyacinths they are the largest of the parrot family.
Other Macaws include the Military Macaw (Ara militaris);
Red Fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys); Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
and the Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus).
The
Macaw is a long-tailed parrot that lives in South America
and Mexico. Sixteen species of macaws inhabit tropical forests
from central Mexico to northern Argentina, distinguished among
the world's 340 parrot species by their long tails and huge
beaks. Eight are considered large, the others weigh a pound
or less. Nine are endangered or threatened, and Spinx's macaw
of Brazil may soon be extinct in the wild. Macaws' intelligence
ranks them among birds as chimpanzees rank among apes.
Macaws eat by breaking through the pulp of some fruits and
occasionally flowers and leaves, but their main goal is seeds.
This makes macaws unlike most birds in the tropical forest.
In feeding, a macaw displays mammal-like dexterity. Each muscular
leg powers a foot of four clawed toes, two facing forward,
two backward. The bird can hang upside down or reach upside
down effortlessly, anchored by one foot to pick fruit with
the other. Its hooked beak can act as a third foot for climbing.
Once the bird has lifted a fruit to its beak, it cannot see
it, but its thick tongue judges the shape and works with the
skills of a thumb to rotate the fruit and position its seeds
for cracking. No seed appears to be a match for that beak.
Macaws have been found eating in mahoganies, kapoks, coral
bean trees, and rubber trees- among a list of 60 or so favorites.
Macaws are thought to experiment with everything. It is part
of their curious nature to bite and test. In a forest of maybe
2,000 species of flowering or fruiting trees, plants, and
vines, they may come upon something they haven't seen before
and try it.
Occasionally, macaws are seen eating riverbank clay. It is
still unknown why macaws eat riverbank clay. It was found
that the clay is high in salts and minerals the birds may
not get from their primarily vegetarian diet. After analyzing
the most commonly eaten seeds, it was discovered that many
held toxic chemical compounds- tannins and alkaloids. It is
likely that macaws take almost daily doses of clay to detoxify
themselves. Clay binds to the toxins and speeds them through
the body. Another clue is the seasonal fluctuation of visits
to clay licks. Most years macaws eat less clay during May
and June, at the start of the dry season, when many plants
are flowering. By late July the licks are active again, and
the macaw crowds peak in August and September, the driest
time of the year. It is suspected that as food sources dwindle,
macaws may have to fall back on more toxic seeds.
.
Macaws play and interact with each other in ways that most
other birds do not. A pair of mated adults will preen each
other and their offspring for hours, removing lice and ticks
and naturally dispersing body oil on one another's feathers.
They do not usually socialize with macaws outside their family,
but they talk to each other constantly. In a trio or quartet
of macaws the young can be identified by their eye color.
Their irises are dark, becoming yellowish with age. Their
age can be a giveaway too. Even when they can fend for themselves,
they often pretend to be babies.
Macaws in captivity live for 50, 60, occasionally 70 years.
In the wild, large macaws that survive their first year have
few natural predators and probably die between the ages of
30 and 45 from a combination of eagle attacks, parasites,
disease, and old age. Few birds live so long or learn so much
throughout their lives. Years after the scientists have long
retired from the rainforests, the birds they have studied
will still be flying protected and free.
Diet
Provide a well balanced diet including seed, nuts, fruits,
vegetables and whatever healthy food you are eating. Small
portions of pasta, cooked chicken, turkey or chicken thigh
bones, fruit salad, cooked legumes and any other leftovers
are great for them. As babies the introduction of a wide variety
of food is helpful to stimulate a balanced diet.
Housing
Cages for them should be large enough to allow them to flap
and stretch their wings. It would be impossible to have too
large a cage, but is common for them to have too small a cage.
Rectangular or square cages provide more space than round
ones. Cages that have the play pens on top are helpful for
both the owner and the bird. They allow an area outside of
the cage to play.
