Scarlet Macaw
Ara macao
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Psittaciformes
FAMILY: Psittacidae -- Tribe: Araini
SIZE:
30 - 35 inches in length
RANGE:
Central and South America
HABITAT:
Forests
DIET:
Wild - Nuts, grains, and seeds
Zoo - Parrot mix
DESCRIPTION:
Large members of the parrot family with mostly red plunge with yellow, green and blue coloration of wings
Distinctive crooked beak used for breaking hard shells and seed coverings
FACTS:
Besides using beak for eating, it is also used for locomotion, also like a third foot
Parrots are the most manually dextrous birds, who like humans, can be left or right handed (footed).
Can imitate speech
YOUNG/NEST:
Clutch numbers 1 - 10 white eggs which hatch in 18 - 30 days
Young are crop-fed by the parents, thus providing young pre-softened, vitamin rich food
STATUS:
CITES App. II; common where habitat is hard to get to but rare to extinct in other areas due to loss of habitat, collection for the pet trade and for feathers
REFERENCE:
"Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia," Vol. 8, Birds II, Dr. Bernhard Grzimek
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