A day in the life of a Macaw

acaws are both Large and small, but what makes them unique from other parrot species is their long graduated tails and the bare patch of skin that covers their whole face.  These Wonderful Creatures have large, strong, curved beaks that will easily crush any nut. Their tongue is dry, almost leather like with a bone inside it making it an excellent tool for digging into fruits. Their long agile toes are zygodactyl, meaning their first and fourth toes point backwards while the second and third toes point forward. This configuration is excellent for grasping their food or just hanging around upside down. They are like the clowns of the parrot world. Their streamlined bodies enable them to fly through the trees and their audacious colors blend in well with their natural habitat giving them amazing camouflage ability.  Although Their loud squawking voices may at times annoy their owners, this shrill screech serves another purpose in the wild. It makes their presence known, denotes their territory and warns others of danger. They may also look for a mate with their loud vocal calls. When disturbed, these magnificent birds will screech loudly and circle overhead with their long cascading tails spread wide.

Macaws sleep in flocks in the trees at night and usually awaken before dawn to start the tedious task of preening their feathers and communicating with one another. If need be they will fly long distances to feed on fruit, nuts, and insects. They are often observed feasting until midday, when they settle down for more preening and noisy chatter. Their afternoon schedule may include foraging for more food and gathering at the clay licks to digest copious amounts of this substance daily. They use the clay licks more often during the breeding season and have been observed carrying  it back home in their beaks and sharing it with their chicks . It seems this clay detoxifies the noxious poisons in their diet of fruit and seeds they consume daily in the rain forest trees and vines. When dusk arrives they will take flight again and return to their roost where they will squabble and figure out their perching arrangements for the night. This may change from day to day resulting in the occasional tiff or two where physical injury seldom occurs.  Once they are settled, they will fluff out their feathers and quieten down for a peaceful slumber throughout the night.

oday, The Macaw’s natural habitat is only in South America, hence the name New World Parrot.  They live in a wide variety of habitats from the tropical rain forests that cover the Amazon basin from Brazil to Peru to the arid regions along the coast of most of western South America. Although some species range as high as 5000 feet in the mountains, they are most numerous in the lowland tropical rain-forest (The Amazon Basin) since they are intrinsic to the water and clay licks.  There was a time long ago, when the Macaw also made it’s home in the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Cuba, and Hispaniola which is comprised of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They are all extinct. Some of the species from these islands are: the Dominican Green-and-Yellow Macaw (extinct in 1791), the Jamaican Green-and-Yellow Macaw (extinct in the early 1800′s), the Lesser Antillean Macaw (extinct in 1760), and the Cuban Red Macaw (extinct in 1864).   The Saint Croix Macaw, another extinct species is believed to originate from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. It seems, there is no clear date when the Saint Croix Macaw became extinct and Very little else is known except for the fact that it’s a medium sized Macaw and fossil bones from this bird were found on these islands..

As I learn more about these magnificent creatures, I have found that not a lot is known about their daily routines and lineage.  It is believed that they are truly monogamous and their reproduction rate is low, producing only a few young every year. Some may live upwards of 60 years, but the likelihood of that continuing, diminish as the years pass because of poaching, the pet trade and loss of habitat from farming and logging.  While only a few of the Macaw species are still thriving, there are some of the species (about a half a dozen or so) that are considered critically endangered.  There is a common belief that only about about 1000 red fronted and blue throated Macaws still exist while the Spix and Glaucus Macaws are pretty much extinct.  The Hyacinth Macaw population is believed to be under 3000.

It is truly a race against the clock as Conservationists work feverishly to prevent this from happening by monitoring their population and habitat, documenting their behavior and mannerisms, and looking for new strategies to  better protect their survival in the wild.  It is tedious work with very little reward as it seems to be a loosing battle because of logging, farming, and the pet trade.   Until we can fully come to grips with our own human nature (greed) and their urgency  to survive and flourish, we may not be able to avoid the extinction of many species  of these magnificent Macaws.

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The Blue and Gold Macaw

Blue and Gold – Ara ararauna

Talking Ability: Moderate to Good

Noise Level: Extremely High

Mad Max

ax is my pet Blue and Gold Macaw and in my humble opinion, he is a proud representative of the most beautiful of all of the macaw species. His primary  colors are a shimmering combination of turquoise blue on his back and tail, splashing into a luxurious cobalt blue on his wings. His belly is adorned with a rich golden color that spreads to the  underside of his tail and flight feathers. The crown of his head is a superlative emerald green in color and his beak a velvety pearl black.  He has a bare white face with an incredible pattern of tiny black feathers following the contour of his beautiful eyes.  Max knows about 40 words.  He is very smart, learns fast, and at times he is a little mischievous.  He’s good looking, he knows it, and he takes full advantage of it. Its easy to see why more and more people want a Macaw for a pet. Those virtues alone would make most pet lovers want to go out and buy one right away.

Unfortunately, Max was not always like this….

Max Chewing up the flowerbed

Max is my first macaw, I found him on Kijiji (Canada’s version of Ebay).  I replied to the ad, set up an appointment, and made my way to George Town, Ontario to purchase him. The owner told me that Max was 4 years old and I would be his third owner. He also told me that he had owned Max for only 3 months.  In hindsight, I guess what he told me should have raised some red flags but For some strange reason it didn’t and I bought him anyway.  After some creative thinking (a bribe), I managed to get him in his carrier and put him in the car for the ride home. (I had to wear ear plugs for the whole trip). When we got home I took Max out of the car and set his carrier on the table while I put his cage together. An hour later and about 4 good hard bites to my hand, I finally got him out of the carrier and into the assembled cage.  For 3 days, he wouldn’t come out of his cage and he squawked the whole time. When he finally did come out after the 3rd day, all he wanted to do was climb to the top of his cage and chew up all of my crown molding. As time went on, he chewed up two remotes, 2 surround sound speakers, and quite a bit of the crown molding in the living room.

Max Eating Supper

That’s when i really started to feel I was in over my head. “This beautiful bird is the bird from hell and it’s to late to get my money back”.  The situation was deteriorating rapidly and I had to find a way to get through to Max so I went online and started searching google for articles on how to raise problem or second hand Macaws. To my surprise, I found dozens of articles on this subject. I followed the articles and spent countless hours working with Max trying to make him feel comfortable enough to respond to me in a positive manner. As time went on Max came around and I started to see some positive results. We began to have more fun and I could see an eagerness about him that pleased me. He still has his moments, but they are less frequent.

Itchy Wing Pits…

This has been a tremendous experience for me and I have learned that a neglected Macaw will need a lot more love, training, and discipline than a newborn baby. A new and inexperienced Macaw owner may not be able to provide or even cope with the level of training required and as a result, the Macaw may get passed on again. This can’t be good for the birds health and well being.  As I close this article, one very important lesson comes to mind. If you are still thinking of buying a Macaw after reading this, Find a reputable breeder and  buy a fully weaned baby macaw from him. It will, in my opinion, make your experience a lot easier and of course more rewarding.  Leave the neglected older macaws for the experts.

Blue and Gold Macaws Flock to the Palm Trees

he Blue and Gold Macaw is usually between 32 and 35 inches in length with about a three and a half foot wingspan and weighs between 900 and 1200 grams. This beautiful parrot is native to pretty much the entire northern half of South America.  They prefer the Rain Forest and congregate in large flocks  in the Trees and vines of these forests.  These magnificent birds are monogamous and usually reach sexual maturity at around 6 years of age, some later.  The Blue and Gold Macaw likes to make its nest in the cavities of  the tall trees in the Rain Forest. Although they are infamous for their chewing ability, they are unable to make these cavities themselves.  They may look for a tree where a main branch has broken off  and a cavity is formed, over time by fungus and termite decomposition or they may move into an abandoned woodpecker hole.  They have also been observed nesting in the tops of dead palm trees in the large palm swamps populated by the Aguaje palm.  When these trees die, their soft trunk center is exposed to the elements, fungus, and beetles.  As a result the soft center rots out leaving a hollow tube for the Blue and gold Macaws to nest in.

Proud Parents Nesting

Usually they will lay 2 or 3 eggs over a 2 day period  and the incubation period can be from 21 to 28 days.   They are devoted parents and look after their young  even after they are grown.  Their chicks are helpless, featherless, and blind at birth and it takes  between 7 and 14 weeks before they start to grow feathers and their eyes  finally open.  During this time,  The young will actively beg for food by flapping their wings and squawking loudly.  The mother latches on to the baby’s beak and starts regurgitating food from her crop into the baby’s mouth.  The baby Blue and Gold is able to take flight about 90 days after hatching.

wild blue and gold Macaw in full flight

The Blue and Gold Macaw in the wild is quickly becoming an endangered species.  Destruction of their habitat due to logging is the  primary reason.  Farmers clearing the forests to plant crops, ranchers looking for more grazing area, and the illegal pet trade are secondary, but I find them just as disparaging.  I feel they should bear closer scrutiny, especially the illegal pet trade.  Logging is their greatest danger only because the biggest trees  are selected and it is done on a much grander scale.  The Illegal pet trade, even though it’s on a smaller scale, still decimates their numbers considerably and it too needs to be addressed more aggressively.  Thousands  die each year from stress because they are illegally transported into the United States and abroad. Cooperation and communication between Local Governments and Conservation Authorities is desperately needed and more money, manpower,  and tougher penalties on the poachers should be pursued aggressively.

As I learn more about these magnificent creatures, I have found that not a lot is known about macaw family life.  As I stated above, it is believed that they are truly monogamous and their production rate is low, producing only a few young every year. Some may live upwards of 60 years, but evidence shows that they aren’t given that chance because of poaching, the pet trade and loss of habitat from farming and logging.  While only a few of the Macaw species are still thriving, there are a some of the species (about a half a dozen or so) that are considered critically endangered.  There is a common belief that only about about 1000 red fronted and blue throated Macaws still exist while the Spix and Glaucus Macaws are pretty much extinct.  The Hyacinth Macaw population is believed to be under 3000.

It is truly a race against the clock as Conservationists work feverishly to prevent this from happening by monitoring their population and habitat, documenting their behaviors and habits, and looking for new strategies to  better protect their survival in the wild.  It is tedious work with very little reward as it seems to be a loosing battle because of the logging, farming, and the pet trade.   Until we can fully come to grips with our own human nature (greed) and their urgency  to survive and flourish, we may not be able to avoid the extinction of many species  of these magnificent Macaws.

In closing, my advice to anyone who still wants one of these magnificent birds for a pet is to buy from a reputable breeder and leave the wild macaws “in the wild“.