World of Macaws (Hook Bills)

Macaws are considered to be the most intelligent of all birds and are called by many biologists the FLYING PRIMATES.  This WORLD specializes in eight species/subspecies of Large Macaws.

Common Name:        Blue and Gold Macaw

Genus/Species:         Ara ararauna

Range:

From eastern Panama across a vast area of northern South America, to Bolivia, Paraguay and most parts of Brazil. 

Natural Habitat:

Wooded riparian zones, swamps, virgin forests and savannas.  Macaws congregate on riverbanks in the jungle.  Parrots are tree species, their slow waddling gait on the ground makes them vulnerable to predators. The birds do not light on the ground until their group numbers 30 or more. The largest home range of the Macaws in South America.

Physical Appearance:

Physical appearance may slightly vary depending on geographic area. Regardless of size, all macaws are characterized by strong beaks, long pointed tails, loud voices, and a facial area of bare skin called the cheek patch.  They signal anger or unease by blushing.  The cheek patch in the Blue and Gold is adorned with a line of single black feathers in a stitchery like pattern.  Head, back, and wings are blue and the chest and body up to the eye is gold.  The tail feather is blue on the top and gold underneath. There is a patch of black under the chin. Their tongue is all black.

Reproduction:

They generally lay their two or three eggs in a two-day interval.  The incubation period is from 21 to 28 days. All macaws are devoted family birds, mating for life and looking after their young even after they are grown.  They are altricial at birth.  The young are vigorous even when young.  The little macaws beg for food by flinging their wings and giving loud cries.  The parent responds by grasping baby's beak at an angle; the young bird pumps away, taking food from the parent's crop into its own. The most disturbing discovery made about macaws is their low reproductive capacity in the wild.  There may be as few as 15 to 25 young born each year to a group of 100 breeding pairs.  They do not breed annually.

STATUS in Natural Habitat:

Threatened to Endangered in their natural habitat.

Cool Fact:

Blue and Gold Macaws are considered more alert, intelligent, inquiring, mischievous and better at imitating human speech than some of the other Macaws.

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