Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Animals > Blue-and-yellow Macaw

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AUDIO GUIDE

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Deep blue on top, golden yellow underneath and an extremely long tail: the blue-and-yellow macaw is one of the most spectacular parrots on the planet. It lives in the rainforests of South America and measures almost a meter in length. Its beak is an incredible tool, able to crack nuts so hard that we would need a hammer. And it has a surprising habit: it visits riverbanks to eat clay, which helps it neutralize the toxins in some seeds. Look at its face: those fine lines of feathers are different on every macaw, like a fingerprint. Macaws form very close pairs that fly together, their wings almost touching, and can live for many decades. Companions for life.

Fun facts

Its beak cracks nuts so hard that we would need a hammer.
It visits riverbanks to eat clay, which helps it neutralize the toxins in some seeds.
The fine lines of feathers on its face are different on every macaw, like a fingerprint.
They form very close pairs that fly with their wings almost touching and can live for many decades.

General information

Height Almost 1 m long

Weight Between 0.9 and 1.3 kg

Diet Frugivore. Seeds, hard nuts, fruit and clay.

Speed Up to 55 km/h in flight

Gestation Incubation of about 28 days

Life expectancy 30-35 years in the wild; over 60 in human care

Habitat Rainforests, riverside forests and palm groves of South America

Animals > Blue-and-yellow Macaw