FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
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Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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.
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.
The hyacinth macaw is an Ave, and the species belongs to the Aves class.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The longest lifespan of this blue macaw is recorded up to 80 years. The average lifespan of this palm tree resident is 50 years.
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.
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.
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).
The hyacinth macaws are beautiful, adorable parrots with attractive colors.
The hyacinth macaw makes harsh gutter calls of 'kraa kraa.' They like to socialize with humans. They are talkative and also can mimic humans.
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.
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.
The mass of this hyacinth macaw ranges from 2.6-3.7 lb (1.2-1.7 kg).
The male and female macaws are called male hyacinth macaw and female hyacinth macaw.
The baby hyacinth macaw is called a chick.
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.
There is no established evidence of this species being dangerous to human beings. On the contrary, these species are endangered by human activities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/hyacinth-macaw/
http://animalia.bio/hyacinth-macaw
https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/birds/hyacinth-macaw/
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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