Macaws are able to crack open hard-shelled nuts with their large, sickle-shaped teeth. As the macaw climbs up trees looking for seeds, flowers and leaves, its beak acts as a third leg. One species, the yellow-and-blue macaw ( Ara Ararauna ), was recorded to have eaten at least 20 plants including some that are toxic to people. Five macaw species gather in Peru’s Manu National Park
to eat clay from the riverbanks, which could help them detoxify certain compounds. The nesting places of macaws are in tree hollows, while hyacinths often nest in riverbank holes. Macaws can be easily trained and some can even mimic sounds. These parrots can sometimes scream loudly, chew and bite . Many local residents keep them as pets . In captivity, a few macaws survived to the age of 65
. Many macaws are illegally exported to meet the demands of the global pet trade. Together with land clearing and log, this has led to many macaws’ (and other parrots’) declining numbers in the wild. Many macaws are listed on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. birds facts The blue-throated macaw
(Ara.glaucogularis), a northern Bolivian species,
and the great green macaws (Ara.ambiguus), both from northern Colombia and Central America, are at greatest risk. Lear’s macaws (Anodorhynchus leari), a Brazilian species, are also at high risk. The last confirmed sighting of a Spix’s macaw, Cyanopsitta Spixii (a non-captive species) was in 2000.
By 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and other authorities had declared the species extinct in nature. Ornithologists also believe that the remaining populations of the glaucous Macaw ( Anodorhynchus.glaucus ) which have been listed by IUCN as a critically threatened species are still viable. The species was last seen in central South America during the 1960s and several other unconfirmed sightings have been reported.