Blue and Gold Macaw Characteristics

Talking

Loudness

Size

Personality

Good With Children

Price

Good

Moderately Loud at Times

Large 20 - 36

Mild, even personality

Caution advised due to size

$1,250.

Blue & gold macaws (Ara ararauna) are prized for their beauty and personality. They make excellent pets, although some have a tendency to become nippy. Blue & golds have an extensive range throughout most of tropical South America, from eastern Panama and lowland Colombia, and a large range throughout the Amazon basin. They inhabit forests of many types and usually fly in pairs or small family groups, but sometimes you’ll see flocks of up to 25 birds.

Appearance & Personality

Among the largest of the parrots, they are a brilliant ultramarine blue above and gold beneath. Their black throats distinguish them from the blue-throated macaw. The naked facial skin is white and has rows of black feather forming lines. The facial skin blushes with excitement. The tail – which is almost as long as the body -- is long and tapered, blue above and gold beneath.

Young, hand-raised macaws are very adaptable and easily handled by many people. They must be socialized at a young age and exposed to a variety of experiences (veterinary visits, houseguests, and car rides) to avoid fearful behavior. Macaws can be very loud as well as destructive. While some speak, most macaws have limited ability to mimic. They are, however, very intelligent and relatively easy to train.

Macaws are playful and love to chew. They should always be provided with toys, especially wooden blocks and branches from non-toxic trees. In order to ensure safety, companion macaws should not be allowed unsupervised freedom in the home as they often encounter toxins or dangerous items.

Feeding

All macaws need plenty of energy for good health. Many of their natural foods, especially palm nuts, are rich in oils, and calories. Macaws should be fed a formulated (pelleted or extruded) diet (Zupreem) as a basis for good nutrition. The diet should be supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables daily to add variety and psychological enrichment. Give one to three small nuts such as almonds, walnuts etc. as treats. Small amounts of seed may also be given as treats especially as rewards for good behavior. Vitamin supplements are not needed for birds that are eating a formulated diet. .

Grooming

Routine bathing or showering is vital to maintaining good plumage and skin condition. Birds can be misted and allowed to dry in a warm room or in the sun, or dried with a blow drier. An ideal way to bathe macaws is to put them in a cage outside, sprinkle them with the hose, and allow them to dry in the sun. Macaws are strong fliers. Most primary flight feathers (4 to 10 feathers closest to the tip of the wing) should be clipped to prevent flight. Clip only enough so the bird will glide to the floor. Wing Clipping Directions

Housing

Macaws are very active and should be provided the largest cage that space and budget allows. Macaws must be able to open their wings without touching the sides of their breeding cage (wing span is approximately three feet) and should have adequate space to move freely between two perches.

Red Fronted macaws are inquisitive and mischievous. While they don’t enjoy handling as much as a blue and golds, they do love human interaction and are delightful pets because of their outgoing personalities.

Appearance and Personality

Red Fronted Macaws (Ara rubrogenys) Olive-green; forehead, crown, ear patch and thighs red; lesser wing-coverts, bend and edge of wing as well as lesser under wing-coverts orange-red; outer webs of primaries and primary-coverts blue; greater under wing-coverts olive-yellow; tail upperside olive-green with blue tips; tail underside olive-yellow; bill black; bare cheek area whitish-flesh colour with blackish-brown feather lines; iris orange; feet grey.

Young hand-raised macaws are very adaptable and typically easily handled by many people. Macaws make excellent pets, although some have a tendency to become nippy. They can be very loud as well as destructive, and while some speak, most macaws have a limited ability to mimic.

Macaws are playful and love to chew. They should always be provided with toys, especially wooden blocks that can be chewed, and branches from non-toxic trees. In order to ensure safety, companion macaws should not be allowed unsupervised freedom in the home as they often encounter toxins or dangerous items. Young macaws should be socialized to many people and exposed to a variety of situations such as new cages, toys, visits to the veterinarian, handling by friends, wing and nail clips, etc. to avoid fear of novel situations.

Feeding

All macaws need plenty of energy for good health. Many of their natural foods, especially palm nuts, are rich in oils, and calories. Macaws should be fed a formulated (pelleted or extruded) diet (Zupreem) as a basis for good nutrition. The diet should be supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables daily to add variety and psychological enrichment. Give one to three small nuts such as almonds, walnuts etc. as treats. Small amounts of seed may also be given as treats especially as rewards for good behavior. Vitamin supplements are not needed for birds that are eating a formulated diet.

Distribution

Eastern central Bolivia in southern Cochabamba, southwest Santa Cruz, northern Potosí and northern Chuquisaca.

Severe macaws are inquisitive, mischievous and animated. While they don’t enjoy handling as much as a blue and golds, they are delightful pets because of their outgoing personalities.

Appearance and Personality

Severe macaws are small green macaws. They are similar in color to military macaws but have a chestnut colored forehead. The naked facial skin is large, white and has rows of black feathers forming lines and a shoulder patch that is orange-red. The tail is long and tapered and is maroon and blue. Mini macaws are lively boisterous birds and require generous living space.

Young hand-raised macaws are very adaptable and typically easily handled by many people. Macaws make excellent pets, although some have a tendency to become nippy. They can be very loud as well as destructive, and while some speak, most macaws have a limited ability to mimic.

Macaws are playful and love to chew. They should always be provided with toys, especially wooden blocks that can be chewed, and branches from non-toxic trees. In order to ensure safety, companion macaws should not be allowed unsupervised freedom in the home as they often encounter toxins or dangerous items. Young macaws should be socialized to many people and exposed to a variety of situations such as new cages, toys, visits to the veterinarian, handling by friends, wing and nail clips, etc. to avoid fear of novel situations.

Feeding

All macaws need plenty of energy for good health. Many of their natural foods, especially palm nuts, are rich in oils, and calories. Macaws should be fed a formulated (pelleted or extruded) diet (Zupreem) as a basis for good nutrition. The diet should be supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables daily to add variety and psychological enrichment. Give one to three small shelled nuts such as almonds, walnuts, peanuts etc. as treats. Small amounts of seed may also be given as treats especially as rewards for good behavior. Vitamin supplements are not needed for birds that are eating a formulated diet.

Routine bathing or showering is vital to maintaining good plumage and skin condition. Birds can be misted and allowed to dry in a warm room or in the sun, or dried with a blow drier. An ideal way to bathe macaws is to put them in a cage outside, sprinkle them with the hose, and allow them to dry in the sun. Macaws are strong fliers. Most of the primary flight feathers (4 to 10 feathers closest to the tip of the wing) should be clipped to prevent flight. Clip only enough so the bird will glide to the floor. Wing Clipping Directions

Yellow-collared macaws are found in central South America from southern Brazil to northern Argentina. They inhabit a variety of forest types from moist subtropical forests of Argentina to dry forests in Bolivia. Yellow-collared macaws are similar in color to military macaws but have a chestnut colored forehead. The naked facial skin is white and has rows of black feather forming lines. The tail is long and tapered, and is maroon, green and blue.

Young hand-raised macaws are very adaptable and typically easily handled by many people. They must be socialized and exposed to a variety of experiences (veterinary visits, other pets, visitors, wing and nail trims, car rides, etc.) at a young age to avoid fearful behavior. Macaws can make excellent pets, although some have a tendency to become nippy. Mini macaws are not as loud as the large macaws.

Macaws are playful and love to chew. They should always be provided with toys, especially wooden blocks that can be chewed, and branches from non-toxic trees. In order to ensure safety, companion macaws should not be allowed unsupervised freedom in the home as they often encounter toxins or dangerous items.

Feeding

All macaws need plenty of energy for good health. Many of their natural foods, especially palm nuts, are rich in oils, and calories. Macaws should be fed a formulated (pelleted or extruded) diet (Zupreem) as a basis for good nutrition. The diet should be supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables daily to add variety and psychological enrichment. Give one to three small shelled nuts such as almonds, walnuts, peanuts etc. as treats. Small amounts of seed may also be given as treats especially as rewards for good behavior. Vitamin supplements are not needed for birds that are eating a formulated diet.

Grooming

Routine bathing or showering is vital to maintaining good plumage and skin condition. Birds can be misted and allowed to dry in a warm room or in the sun, or dried with a blow drier. An ideal way to bathe macaws is to put them in a cage outside, sprinkle them with the hose, and allow them to dry in the sun. Macaws are strong fliers. Most of the primary flight feathers (4 to 8 feathers closest to the tip of the wing) should be clipped to prevent flight. Clip only enough so the bird will glide to the floor. Wing Clipping Directions