CC BY-SA 2.0 · chuck624 from Upstate NY, USA · source
Quick Facts
- Type
- Bird
- Size
- About 81–90 cm long, including the tail
- Weight
- About 1 kg (2.2 lb)
- Habitat
- Tropical rainforest
- Diet
- Herbivore — fruit, nuts, and seeds
- Active Time
- Diurnal, active by day
- Lifespan
- 40–50 years in the wild, up to 75+ in captivity
Field Notes
- More than half of the Scarlet Macaw's length is its long, tapering tail.
- Their powerful hooked beaks can crack open hard nuts and seeds that defeat most other animals.
- Scarlet Macaws often gather at exposed riverbank clay licks to eat mineral-rich earth, which may help neutralize toxins in their fruit-and-seed diet.
- In captivity they can live 75 years or more, and they typically mate for life.
About the Scarlet Macaw
The Scarlet Macaw is a large, unmistakable parrot native to the humid lowland forests of southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Famous for its blazing red plumage trimmed with yellow and blue, it flies in noisy pairs and flocks above the canopy, calling with loud raucous squawks. These birds are highly social and form long-lasting pair bonds, often staying together for life. They feed high in fruiting trees and gather at riverbank clay licks to eat mineral-rich soil. Intelligent and long-lived, Scarlet Macaws are among the most recognizable birds of the American tropics.
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