Marvelous Macaws

Greetings bird lovers! Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler temperatures and looking forward to a great fall and winter here in South Florida. If you haven’t already, now is a wonderful time of year to park your favorite pet bird outside (safely enclosed of course) for some fresh air and sunlight. If your bird is usually kept indoors it will enjoy the change of scenery and sounds of the great outdoors. I would recommend only leaving your bird on a screen enclosed porch however, as you never know when the neighbor’s cat might decide to come over and introduce itself!

Our bird of the month this time is the macaws. I’m sure everyone out there reading this has at one time or another seen a macaw. Out of all the larger parrots, this is the most recognizable one due to its immense popularity in advertising and television. Macaws are native to Central and South America. In the United States they have been kept as pets since as early as 1100 A.D. by the Pueblo Indians who still prize the tail feathers of the scarlet macaw.

Beginning with the largest of the macaws and following up next month with the mini-macaws, we start with the Hyacinth Macaw, whose overall length averages 39 inches (now that’s a big bird!). The Hyacinth is totally an indigo blue color with pale yellow eye ring and slight touch of yellow on each side of the lower beak. Due to its big size as well as big price tag ($6,000 and up), this bird is not usually kept as a pet, except by experienced parrot handlers.

The Greenwing Macaw is next in line measuring in at 39 inches. The Greenwing is sometimes mistaken for a Scarlet Macaw. Its name is misleading in that they are predominately red with a band of green on their wings. Many bird enthusiasts consider the Greenwing to be the smartest of the large macaws with the ability to learn quickly.

The Blue and Gold [picture at top of previous page] has an overall length of 34 inches. Most of this bird’s upper body from the crown of the head down back, over upperwings and tail is blue. The undersides of the body are a rich yellow-gold color. These are the most commonly available of the larger macaws. These playful, fun loving birds have an ideal personality that adapts well to changing surroundings. The Scarlet measures 33 inches. Its general appearance is close to the Greenwing, but it is smaller and is distinguished by a broad yellow band running across the wing. This bird is extremely sensitive to its environment and prone to be nippy. They will bond well with the immediate family but like all companion birds do require daily freedom from their cages and enjoy being played with.

The Military Macaw averages 27 to 29 inches. Most of the body is predominately green with some greenish-blue on flight feathers and underside of tail. It has a bright red band across the forehead. These are a great choice for someone interested in a slightly smaller bird. They are generally docile and bond and adapt well. There are a couple other types of these larger-type macaws, but I will not go into them as they are not as commonly found in the pet trade.

Macaws in general are highly sociable birds who, in the wild, live in large flocks. In captivity, once a trust is established between bird and owner, a strong bond will form. The lifespan of the larger macaws is about 50 years. Some serious considerations before entering into a lifelong relationship with a macaw should be the size of the bird, the large housing required and the potential for some loud noises! A well socialized macaw should not turn into a screaming maniac, however, they are all going to be loud at times. In general they can make very good family birds who have the ability to learn many words, some before the age of one year.

Macaws are extremely large birds that require special caging. The cage consideration for the large macaw should be at least 30 x 30 x 42. Really no cage is too big for a macaw. Playgyms are recommended for the important out of the cage time. Natural branches should be used for perches. Toys are always a must and in their case should be the large wooden type as those large beaks can get mighty destructive, and as we all know a bored bird is not a happy bird! Diet should consist of a good pellet diet, very little seed and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

If the larger macaws sound interesting to you and you would like to learn more, please call me at 561-743-5616. We have several macaw breeders out here in Jupiter Farms, FL who can give you all the info you need.

Thanks for reading..see you next month with information on my personal favorite, the “mini-macaws”.