What is a Macaw Parrot? A macaw bird is the largest of all the parrot species. The largest macaw includes the Military Macaw (20 inches) and the great Hyacinth Macaw(up to 40 inches) including their tail. But lets not forget about the also just as beautiful, mini macaws that ranges from 10-20 inches in length.
The Scarlet Macaw has stunningly bright features.
They originate from the Neotropical rain forests. These big bright colored exotic looking birds have a proportionately large beak, long pointed tails and light or white medial white patches around the eyes. They are a creature of their own with a bare face that changes from white to pink when it is blushing or excited. The face of a macaw is bared skin. Upon looking at it, it appears to have almost painted stripes on their faces. However, these stripes are actually teeny tiny dark bluish feathers that form the stripe formation.
The Harlequin Macaw is an exquisite hybrid breed - a mix of the Blue and Gold Macaw and the Green-Wing Macaw.
These facial stripe patterns are amazingly different for each macaw. Making a macaw’s facial pattern as unique as a fingerprint.
The largest of all Macaws is the Hyacinth, supplied with an amply large beak!
Major macaw attributes include its large specialized powerful beak. “The bird boasts large powerful beaks that easily crack nuts and seeds, while their dry, scaly tongue that have a bone inside them that makes it an effective tool for tapping into fruits.”[Macaws Article from National Geographic]. Their beak is powerful enough to chew into a hollow tree to make a safe nest.
The Hahns Macaw is the smallest breed at (12) inches long - a delightful, intelligent & charming companion.
The list goes on for these gifted creatures. Macaws have exceptional eyesight. Their eyes are set at the sides of their heads giving them the ability to view 360 degrees.This means they can see most of what is in the front, back, above and below. A very rare eye feature that makes a macaw different from other birds is that the macaw has the ability to move the eye bulb inside its sockets. This helps them keep an eye out for predators in the wild. Macaws are also capable of seeing more spectrum of colors than humans. In fact, they see almost two to three times better than humans. It is important to note that their eyesight is keen to perceiving details and motion.They can see if a food is good or bad, a potential mate and hidden predators camouflaged in the thick rain forests.
Howdy!
Another exceptional unique attribute macaws have is that they have a zygodactyl or yoke-toed feet. This means that they have a total of four toes, two are facing forward and two are facing backwards. This type of foot is adapted for easy climbing and grasping.The two pairs of opposing toes makes a macaw even better at grasping and holding while it maneuvers from place to place.
The Military Macaw has a reputation of being sociable and forming strong bonds.
Other features that must be mentioned is their hearing. Hearing has been important as it gives a macaw the ability to look out for imminent danger and socialize with other birds in the flock in the wild. They have funnel shaped ears which allows them to focus on specific sounds. It is located slightly behind the head and protected by soft auricular feathers. They can hear smaller frequency ranges then humans making them intent listeners. Macaws have the ability to perceive tone, pitch and rhythm in sounds at a much higher lever than humans. Hearing is essential therefore so highly developed in the macaw. In their natural habitat, hearing is used to look for food, avoid predators and communicate in their flocks. Macaws are highly vocal, they can easily be identified by their endless screaming, squawking and screeching in the forest. Touch is not as developed: however they are sensitive to change of weather.
Blue and Gold Macaws, like all Macaws, have bones inside of their tongues.
As, these changes in temperature can be transferred from their feathers down to their many nerves on their skin. Taste is also not so pronounced in a macaw. Yet, it can taste sweet, sour and bitter. They can determine which food they like by taste, but they depend most on sight and hearing to look for food. Smell is developed in macaws more than other bird; however, their survival depends on utilizing their vision and hearing the most. “Parrot experiences the world in ways quite similar and different to mammals. It is apparent that vision, hearing and vocalization, taste, olfaction, and touch perceptions play vital roles int the daily life of a parrot.” [Manual of Parrot Behavior by Blackwell Publishing]