Hyacinth Macaw
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus
WILD STATUS
Endangered.
DISTRIBUTION
South America: In the pantanal region of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.
SIZE
The Hyacinth Macaw will grow to be over 3 feet from beak to tail.
Weight varies from 1.5-2 kg (3.3-4.4 lb).
Their wingspan is almost 5 feet.
HABITAT
Lightly to moderately wooded country, riverside tropical rain forests, and grassy marshes.
REPRODUCTION
Breeding takes place in the dry season. Nesting occurs in an unlined cavity in a tree trunk, and in holes in cliff-faces. The clutch consists typically of two eggs, although usually only one fledgling survives. Incubation is 28-30 days. The newly hatched young are fed by both parents on regurgitated food and fledge for 3 months.
DIET
Mainly fruits, nuts and seeds, and vegetable matter.
INTERESTING TIDBITS
- The Hyacinth Macaw specializes in eating the tough fruit and nuts of palm trees. One of the ways they manage to do this is by foraging in the fields where cattle live. The cattle will first eat the palm nuts, which will pass through their digestive system and come out the other end with the hard coating removed. The nut is now softer and easier to eat for the Hyacinth Macaw.
- Macaws will also eat clay soil, which scientists believe is to neutralize or absorb any toxic chemicals the birds may eat in seeds or unripe fruits.
- Like most macaws, the Hyacinth Macaw likes to take baths.
- An estimated 6,500 Hyacinth Macaws remain in the wild, 5,000 of which can be found in the Pantanal.
- Hyacinth Macaws are the largest species of parrot in the world.
ANIMAL FACT SHEET
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