Species
Profile - The Scarlet Macaw
by
Houston (aka "BlazeyBird" on ThePerch.net)
Ara Macao
Scarlet Macaws are about 33 inches (85 cm) long & weight 900-1100 grams.
They have a brighter coloration (compared to their close relatives the
green wing macaw) and can be distinguished by the yellow feathers across
the wing over the green and blue wing feather their body feathers are a
lighter red (compared to the darker red in green wings). Also on their
tails, they have several dark blue feathers. The Scarlet macaw is found in
Central America, Mexico, Oaxaca, Panama, South America, Colombia, Bolivia,
Brazil, Guiana, and Trinidad. They particularly like the humid primary
forest and woodlands below 3,300 feet, (altitude).
Their diet may consist of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, pellets,
almonds, nuts, occasional seeds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, and such
other such foods. Fresh water is also a must.
Scarlet Macaws need to be housed in as big of a cage as you can afford or
an aviary, one thing is for the bird to be able to stretch its wings out
as far as possible (which in Scarlet’s happens to be 44-47 inches) and not
touch the sides. It also needs to be large enough so he/she will have
enough room to be comfortable and still have plenty of toys to play with.
Macaws in general love toys and you should provide your macaw with many
different types of toys. Some different types of toys are: wood (for them
to chew/ destroy), leather for them to chew on, paper or shredable for
them to shred, mental stimulation toys such as puzzles for them to use
their brain to get a treat or such, foraging toys for them to learn
natural foraging techniques, but these are just some idea’s.
Interaction with your bird is a must, you can’t just stick a bird in a
cage with a perch and toy and expect them to be happy. Each day you need
to bring the bird out of its cage or aviary and play with it, give it
attention and lots of loving. Play games with your bird, like tug of war,
or swinging them around which macaws love to do, or teach them new tricks.
They just love the interaction they get and will love to be with the ones
they own.
Daily Care is of course, feed and water every day, fresh food and water,
and plenty of fresh veggies/fruits. Change the litter/liner/paper on the
bottom of the cage to maintain your bird’s health. Also, you need to take
your bird to an avian vet at least once a year for a yearly check up.
Breeding in captivity started in the 20th century. The ideal breeding age
is about 4-8 years of age. The clutch size will be between 2-3 eggs. The
incubation is about 26-28 day’s. Weaning is about 10 weeks a few months.
It is about 16 weeks for fledging.
Scarlet macaw’s are wonderful and loving birds and deserve a loving home,
so please take into account every aspect that the bird needs and make a
good decision whether you are ready for a macaw just yet. So please take
time to think about these things before you just go out and buy a bird.
All we want is for the birds to be happy!
This article was written with the help of the book
Macaws, a Barron’s book and the website,
Animal World.
This
information is provided by the “News from the Nest” newsletter.
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