A member of the Neotropical parrots the scarlet macaw is a big bird with red, blue and yellow plumage. Their natural habitat is the evergreen forests of South America. It is also the national bird of the Honduras. These magnificent birds are beautiful to look at and make wonderful pets and if you are a proud owner of a scarlet macaw there are a few things which you should know about your pet.
Classification and Scientific Name
The scarlet macaw belongs to the genus Ara which is one among the six genera of South and Central American macaws. It was described and named the scarlet macaw by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. The scientific name of this bird is Ara macao.
Size
They measure about 35 inches in length from their beak to tail feathers and weigh about 2 to 3 pounds.
Lifespan
A scarlet macaw can live up to 70 years in captivity.
Temperament
They are social and intelligent and learn fast. They could get aggressive and be extremely irritating with their screechy voice but they are lovable and extremely attached to their owner which is why they always wish to grab their attention and become loud at times.
Characteristics
A scarlet macaw weighs around 1 kg (2 to 2.5 pounds) and measures 81 to 95 cm (32 to 35 inches). Their plumes are mostly scarlet, the rear and tail feathers are blue in colour whereas the upper wings are yellow and the tips are dark blue. The skin around the eye to the bill is white and there are small white feathers on this patch of face. Their upper beaks are pale white while the lower beaks are black. The young macaws have dark eyes and the older parrots have yellow eyes.
Diet
Scarlet macaws love fresh food like fruits, vegetables, nuts, kibbles and other bird food.
Reproduction
A female scarlet macaw will normally lay 2 to 4 eggs. The young will hatch in 25 days and will fledge in around 105 days and fly independently in a years’ time.
Scarlet Macaws as Pets
Scarlet’s make great pets as they are intelligent, confident, friendly and magnificently beautiful. They can easily be trained to learn simple tricks and mimic sounds and develop vocabulary of around 10 words.
Although they look attractive and are bound to be taken as pets by anyone, you should keep in mind that scarlet’s are noisy birds and demand a lot of attention. If you are living in condominiums or apartments, you should give it a thought before buying as they get screechy and loud many times during the day. Make sure you treat your bird while you are training them either with food or a gentle touch or stroke which ever your pet prefers.
If they are not trained to be social they could become aggressive and could cause a lot of destruction. It is vital that the owner develop a bond with the pet bird.
We hope you enjoy reading this.
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Read more:
The history of Macaws as pets
Anatomy of macaw species
The development of macaw species
Senses in macaw species
The natural habitat of macaws
Natural behavior of macaws species
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