The Macaw !!!!

Serena Gutierrez

Mr. Boyd

Anatomy t/th

The Macaw

One Species of tropical parrots is the Macaw; these birds are very unique, beautiful, and fasinating creatures. The Macaw is located throughout much of Central and South America. From Panama to northern tip of Argentina. Macaws live mostly in forests, especially those that grow in swampy ground or along rivers.

Macaws are very unique birds and have very distinct features. the have a rich blue color on the crown, nape, back, wings, and upperside of the tail and golden yellow on the underside of the tail. They have a large black patch on their throat, and a black bill. The Macaw has white, bare skin on the sides of the face with wavy lines of small, black feathers. When a Macaw makes a noise, it's not usually very pretty, although their sounds are very unique coming from a bird.

Macaws can reach up to 85 cm tail to ti[; the tail being 50cm. There are 16 different species of Macaws. The largest of the Macaws is the Hyacinth, which reaches up to the size of one metre. The smallest of the Macaws is the Red-Shouldered Macaw, which usually reaches up to 30 cm. They can live up to 50 years IN captivity. The Macaw eats many plants and nuts and berries.

The Macaw birds move about in screeching flocks. Early in the morning a screeching chorus that sounds similar to barking dogs begin as birds leave their roosts to gather in a tree. When the heat builds up, they look for shade, and when the suns rays weaken, the birds some out again to feed. Blue and yellow Macaws have been recorded flying as far as 25 km to feed. The colorfulness is helpful to hide from predators because they're hard to spot in teh tree canopy.

Macaws nest in hollow trees, sometimes high up from the ground. They usually lay 2 eggs which the female incubates for a month. The chicks stay in the nest for about 3 months because they are born blind and develop slowly. They screech loudly and raise their wings above their head to show their brightly colored underwings.

Eight of the sixteen species of Macaws are classified as endangered and all populations of Macaws are declining. They're restricted to the threatened rainforests of South America which are being cut down at an alarming rate.

http://www.soundboard.com/sb/Macaw_sounds_audio.aspx (different Macaw sounds)