Animals
Class: Bird
Biome:
Conservation Status: Least Concern
About this animal
Fota Wildlife Park is home to both Scarlet and Blue & Gold macaws. Both species originate from the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. Macaws vary in height from 39.4 inches (Hyacinth macaw) to 11.8 inches (Red-shouldered macaw). Macaws are members of the parrot family and have the typical parrot features. They have large, strong, curved beaks designed to crush nuts and seeds. Strong, agile toes are used like hands to grasp things. Loud, screeching and squawking voices help make their presence known in dense rain forests. Macaws live in pairs, family groups, or flocks of 10 to 30, which provides them with protection from predators such as large snakes and birds of prey. Scarlet Macaws eat mostly fruits and seed. The Scarlet Macaw lays two or three white eggs in a tree cavity. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 90 days after hatching and leave their parents about a year later.
Did you know?
A macaw’s beak is so strong it can easily crush and open a Brazil nut—or a human knuckle!
