Fun Hyacinth Macaw Facts For Kids

The hyacinth macaw or hyacinthine macaw is an indigenous parrot of central and eastern South America. This bird, native to palm trees, is the giant and longest flying parrot of the Psittacidae family. They inhibit the Pantanal, a natural region of grassland forest stretching from Brazil, Bolivia to Paraguay, The Cerrado, the tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, and the eastern Amazon basin of Brazil. They fly and stay in groups. As they are social birds, they nest on palm trees. The biological name of this bird is Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus. These birds are long-lived, and their lifespan can reach up to 50 years even in the wild. They are playful birds, and they use their beaks, tongues, and feet to invade new objects. Owing to their cheerful nature, vibrant coloring, and ability to learn words, birds of this species are qualified as popular pets.

Humans threaten the hyacinth macaws' population due to illegal pet trade, cultivation, and habitat degeneration. With the outstandingly loud, fearless, curious, passive, and predictable nature of this species, along with its unique identity in its captivity, these species are explicitly vulnerable to capture, shooting, and habitat destruction. To find out more, read on.

If this article interests you, you may also like our articles on birds of paradise and barn owl facts.
 

What type of animal is a Hyacinth Macaw?

The hyacinth macaw is a bird. It is the longest of the macaw species, and also, it is the largest flying parrot species. It is also known as blue hyacinth macaw as it is predominantly blue.

What class of animal does a Hyacinth Macaw belong to?

The hyacinth macaw is an Ave, and the species belongs to the Aves class.

How many Hyacinth Macaws are there in the world?

The total number of hyacinth parrots is estimated to be 4300. However, these wild macaws population is perishing due to open or semi-open habitat destruction for modern farming and agriculture methods.

Where does a Hyacinth Macaw live?

The hyacinth macaw prefers tropical and terrestrial habitats. They live in woodlands, savanna, grasslands, palm swamps, and semi-open wooden habitats. These hyacinth macaw are endemic to Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay of South America.

What is a Hyacinth Macaw's habitat? 

These macaw species choose palm swamps, woodlands, and semi-open habitats over the dense humid forests. They are found in places where there is adequate availability of nuts, grains, seeds, and fruits, which is the major diet of these blue hyacinth macaw. They are mostly populated at the Pantanal, the world's largest spread grasslands. This region encircles the largest tropical wetland area. It is spread across the Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay.

Who do Hyacinth Macaws live with?

The hyacinth macaw are social animals. They stay together almost all the time. They flock together in a group of six to eight birds. These wild bluebirds are always found with their partner. They also prefer human company and like to engage in conversation with humans.

How long does a Hyacinth Macaw live?

The longest lifespan of this blue macaw is recorded up to 80 years. The average lifespan of this palm tree resident is 50 years.

How do they reproduce?

The hyacinth macaws breed in tree cliffs and cavities of Panama trees, which is 157-551 in (4-14 m) above the ground level. Though the mating season lasts for the entire year, the nesting period only typically falls from November to April during the wet season. They lay two to three eggs, and the incubation period of these birds is between 25-28 days. During this period, the female nests the eggs, and the male provides food like fruits, seeds, and nuts. The hatched newborn chicks further continue to stay in the nest for another 13 weeks and become independent post 18 months.

What is their conservation status?

The status of these parrots of the Psittacidae family is mentioned as Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature in the Red List of threatened species. These macaws are among the most endangered species of all the bird families. They have been victims of illegal smuggling for the pet trade and habitat loss. In the regions of Pantanal and Amazonia, cattle ranching, modernized agriculture, and grass-fires have accounted for these species' habitat loss. Therefore, specific laws have been introduced in Bolivia and Brazil to preserve these macaws' population. In Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, hyacinth macaws' commercial trade is banned. The Mato Grosso do Sul state of Brazil has established an artificial nest atmosphere to attract these birds and maintain them.

What do Hyacinth Macaws look like?

The hyacinth macaws are as colorful as any other parrot species. Their upper body is covered with ultramarine glossy blue feathers, which are slightly gray at the neck, and their beak is massive and hooked. Their eyes and the lower mandible base are outlined by prominent yellow color. These birds have short, sturdy legs, which help them hang upside down and sideways. It has a long and pointed tail. These blue macaws have a wingspan, which is 46.1-50 in (117-127 cm).

How cute are they?

The hyacinth macaws are beautiful, adorable parrots with attractive colors.

How do they communicate?

The hyacinth macaw makes harsh gutter calls of 'kraa kraa.' They like to socialize with humans. They are talkative and also can mimic humans.

How big is a Hyacinth Macaw? 

The hyacinth macaws are the largest flying parrots of the macaw species, and the hyacinth macaw size is two times in length and mass to that of a normal macaw.

How fast can a Hyacinth Macaw fly?

The hyacinth macaw can fly at a speed of 35 mph (56.3 kph), and perhaps these macaws are the largest flying parrots in the world.

How much does a Hyacinth Macaw weigh?

The mass of this hyacinth macaw ranges from 2.6-3.7 lb (1.2-1.7 kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

The male and female macaws are called male hyacinth macaw and female hyacinth macaw.

What would you call a baby Hyacinth Macaw?

The baby hyacinth macaw is called a chick.

What do they eat? 

These macaws are mainly frugivores and granivores. Their diet mainly comprises nuts, seeds, and grains.

Their strong beaks are well equipped to break the shell of hard nuts, and they are more efficient than other macaws in doing so. These blue macaws feed on a diet of eight species of palm nuts rich in nutrients and fat. They climb to pick the palm nuts and eat them on the ground.

Are they dangerous?

There is no established evidence of this species being dangerous to human beings. On the contrary, these species are endangered by human activities.

Would they make a good pet?

The hyacinth macaws are cute, beautiful, smart, vocal, intelligent, curious sedentary birds, making them an obvious choice of pet company. In aviculture, the bird keepers sometimes retain them as companion parrots. However, having them as pets calls for high maintenance, from their food requirements to open space requirements. Studies indicate that these parrots need one whole room of safe and destroyable wooded and leather objects to keep the creature engaged. The bird also likes to interact with its owners and have conversations. Since they are a vulnerable animal, however, it is best to preserve them in their natural wild spaces and forest, safe from pet trade.

Did you know...

The hyacinth macaw captive in palm swamps carries out its major activity in groups through the early hours of daylight and early afternoon.

While eating, the hyacinth macaw disperses seeds and nuts throughout its territory and expels seeds through its feces. Both these methods help to generate new trees in the forest.

These macaw species are known for their problem-solving capacity, and their intelligence is compared to that of a toddler. They adopt the practice of using basic tools, such as utilizing a leaf or small pieces of wood to prevent the nuts they eat from slipping.

The hyacinth macaws are very desirable and valued birds in pet trading, as they are beautiful birds with attractive colors and exhibit smart and playful nature. This bird is bid for $1,000. They are rare, and maintaining them is a costly affair, hence having them turns out to be expensive. Due to the declining populations of this species, the hyacinth macaw is protected by the laws of Brazil and Bolivia, and international trade of this bird is prohibited.

These birds are generally described as gentle, with no known pieces of evidence of being aggressive, but they can bite causing injury to the birdkeepers, so it is suggested to train them from a very young age and discourage this behavior, and prevent biting entirely.

Macaw parrots face some common diseases and infections. These birds may develop liver disorders as a result of inadequate diet or excessive fat consumption. An overgrown and scaly beak will indicate this.

Can a Hyacinth Macaw talk?

The hyacinth macaw is very good at talking. It is easy to train them. There are a set of instructions to be followed to train these intelligent, beautiful birds. They should not be beaten is the first rule. The training sessions should be slow, short, rewarding, and with eye contact. They should be taught only one word at a time initially, picking up to two words and then framing a sentence slowly. They have to be trained only with a single trick at a time.

What eats the Hyacinth Macaw?

With their ability to inhibit open and semi-open habitats, the hyacinth macaw is not prone to predators, but the hyacinth macaw's eggs and chicks are prey to Corvidae jays, crows, coatis, toco toucans, and skunks.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds, including secretary bird or great green macaw.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our P is for Parrot coloring pages.