Macaws can remember the locations of their favorite fruit trees even after several months!
Macaws - Facts for Kids
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Facts About Macaws For Kids
Macaws have a special pouch in their throat called a crop, where they hold food for a short time before it goes to their stomach!
Macaws use their tongues like fingers to move food around in their mouths and extract seeds from fruit!
Macaws can tell if a fruit is ripe just by gently squeezing it with their beak!
Baby macaws learn which foods are safe to eat by watching their parents and trying small bits of what they’re eating!
Conservation & Population
There are about 19 known macaw species in the world — but sadly, three of those are already gone from nature, meaning they’re extinct or extinct in the wild.
The Spix’s macaw — like Blu from Rio — was extinct in the wild, but thanks to amazing conservation work, some have been successfully returned to their home in Brazil and are even having babies in the wild again!
The Blue-throated Macaw is one of the world’s rarest macaws, with fewer than 500 birds left in the wild!
The biggest threat to wild macaws is habitat loss — we’re losing rainforest at an alarming rate!
Macaws need very large protected areas to survive — they fly up to 15 miles (24 kilometers) each day just to find food, showing how much forest space they depend on!
Fun & Unique Facts
The loudest macaw call can reach 105 decibels — as loud as a motorcycle engine!
A macaw’s beak grows continuously throughout its life, just like our fingernails!
Ancient Maya and Aztec people thought macaws were sacred birds. They painted, carved, and used their bright feathers a lot in artwork, ceremonies, and royal clothes!
Macaws often pick a favorite foot — just like people favor one hand — and use it to hold food or toys. Some are left-footed, some are right-footed, and a few use both!
The Blue-and-gold Macaw has a brain about the size of a walnut but can solve puzzles as well as a 4-year-old child!
A macaw’s tongue has little grooves and rough bumps that help it hold nuts, peel fruits, and move food around inside its mouth!
Macaws can’t really swim — if they accidentally fall in water, they might paddle frantically to get out, but they’re not built for swimming and could be in serious danger!
A macaw’s body temperature is higher than a human’s at 104°F (40°C)!
Macaws are one of the few animals that can dance to music and move to the beat — just like people!
The force of a macaw’s bite is strong enough to snap a broomstick in half!
Macaws are one of the few birds that can use their feet to bring food to their beaks, like how we use our hands!
A single macaw can have over 3,000 feathers!
Baby macaws learn to “fly” before they learn to talk!
Macaws in the same group can develop their own special way of calling to each other — like a secret accent — so they know who’s part of their flock!
Macaws have different calls for different types of danger — one for ground predators (animals that hunt them on the ground) and another for aerial threats (danger from the sky)!
Macaws in large flocks take turns being “lookout” while others eat or rest!
A macaw’s heart beats about 340 times per minute — twice as fast as a human’s!
