Where To Buy A Hyacinth Macaw
Because they are so rare, prices of blue macaws are going to be pricier than those of a more common macaw species. They will also be more difficult to find for sale. In contrast, for example, blue and gold macaw prices are among the lowest of all macaws because they are so widespread.
where to buy a hyacinth macaw
A hyacinth macaw costs between $5,000 and over $12,000, which is going to be the biggest one-time cost you need to plan for. The age of the macaw, as well as how tame they are, will impact their price. Be cautious of blue macaw prices advertised at too-good-to-be-true prices, as scams are unfortunately common.
Another concern when buying a hyacinth macaw is that they are illegal to capture from the wild. Make certain that you are buying a captive-bred bird from a reputable breeder. If not, you could find yourself facing fines for owning an illegal bird.
Keeping your hyacinth macaw healthy involves more than just taking them to the vet once a year. You also need to feed them the right diet and make sure their beak, nails, and wings are properly trimmed. Unfortunately, like all pets, hyacinth macaws can suffer illnesses, accidents, or other veterinary emergencies that are often expensive. A pet insurance policy can help make it easier to cover these unexpected health care costs.
Hyacinth macaws require a diet with higher fat than other macaw species. In addition to high-quality pellet food, they need to eat a quantity of nuts daily to meet their fat requirements. Macadamia nuts or brazil nuts are two options they could eat. Blue macaws also need a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Because of their size, hyacinth macaws eat a lot, resulting in higher monthly food costs.
At a minimum, your hyacinth macaw should have a yearly checkup with an exotic pet veterinarian. Sometimes, your vet will also recommend blood or stool checks to catch any potential health problems early. As your bird gets older, they may develop health conditions that require regular medications or more frequent visits to the vet. Remember, hyacinth macaws can live a lot longer than a dog or cat, up to 60 years sometimes!
Like all birds, hyacinth macaws can be quite messy, even more so due to their size. You will need to budget for keeping their living space clean and tidy each month. Hyacinth macaws also need access to plenty of toys to chew on and keep them entertained. Because their beaks are so strong, they are tough on their toys and you can expect to need replacements often.
Hyacinth macaws need a regular supply of toys to keep them entertained. They love to chew and because their beaks are so powerful, they will go through a lot of toys. A good way to budget for all that destruction is to subscribe to a monthly toy box. That way your hyacinth macaw will always have a fresh set of toys to keep them occupied.
Keep in mind that these monthly costs are estimates that can vary based on costs in your particular area. In addition, your costs will be impacted by how old your blue macaw is, as well as how many birds you have. Hyacinth macaws are social birds who enjoy company and you might find that they need another feathered friend.
Hyacinth macaws are the longest parrots in the world, reaching a massive 100 centimeters in length. As their name implies, are covered with bright blue plumage. They have bare yellow eye-ring circles around large black eyes, a yellow chin, a strongly hooked beak, and feet (2 toes that point forward and 2 toes that point backward). the Blue Macaw lifespan can also be up to 70 years if proper care is provided.
The hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), or hyacinthine macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about one meter it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species; the flightless kākāpō of New Zealand outweighs it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it could be confused with the smaller Lear's macaw. Habitat loss and the trapping of wild birds for the pet trade have taken a heavy toll on their population in the wild, so the species is classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List,[1] and it is protected by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
English physician, ornithologist, and artist John Latham first described the hyacinth macaw in 1790 under the binomial name Psittacus hyacinthinus.[3] Tony Pittman in 2000 hypothesized that although the illustration in this work appears to be of an actual hyacinthine macaw, Latham's description of the length of the bird might mean he had measured a specimen of Lear's macaw instead.[4] However, Latham's description was based on a taxidermic specimen, which was the only one Latham knew to exist up until 1822. It was prepared from a living animal originally belonging to Lord Orford, and given to the land agent Parkinson for display in the Leverian Museum after it died.[5][6]
Nonetheless, Latham mentions another bird, which he calls the 'blue maccaw', supposedly the same size.[5][6] This blue macaw was already described in Latham's 1781 volume of his A general synopsis of birds as merely a variety of the blue and yellow macaw,[7] and was previously figured in the work of Mathurin Jacques Brisson (1760),[8] Patrick Browne (1756)[9] and Eleazar Albin (1738)[10] as a macaw found in Jamaica.[7] Albin, Browne and Brisson all reference even older authors and state the bird also occurs on the mainland,[8][9][10] and Albin states this bird is the female version of the scarlet macaw.[10] Latham mentions that the provenance of parrots in general was often confused by the fact that the birds were much traded across the world for the purposes of sale.[7]
The Hyacinth macaw mostly nests in Manduvi trees, which rely on the Toco Toucan for 83.3% of the tree's distribution of seeds. The Toco Toucan also feeds on 53% of the hyacinth macaw's offspring as eggs.[13] Eggs are also regularly preyed on by corvids such as jays and crows,[14][15] opossums,[14] skunks[15] and coatis.[14][15] The young are parasitized by larvae of flies of the genus Philornis.[16]
The majority of the hyacinth macaw diet is composed of the nuts from specific palm species, such as acuri and bocaiuva palms.[17] They have very strong beaks for eating the kernels of hard nuts and seeds. Their strong beaks are even able to crack coconuts, the large brazil nut pods, and macadamia nuts. The birds also boast dry, smooth tongues with a bone inside them that makes them an effective tool for tapping into fruits.[18] The acuri nut is so hard, the parrots cannot feed on it until it has passed through the digestive system of cattle.[17] In addition, they eat fruits and other vegetable matter. The hyacinth macaw generally eats fruits, nuts, nectar, and various kinds of seeds. Also, they travel for the ripest of foods over a vast area.[19]
In the Pantanal, hyacinth macaws feed almost exclusively on the nuts of Acrocomia aculeata and Attalea phalerata palm trees. This behaviour was recorded by the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates in his 1863 book The Naturalist on the River Amazons, where he wrote that
It flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms, but especially of the Mucuja (Acrocomia lasiospatha). These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw.
In captivity, the palm nuts native to the hyacinth macaw's natural habitat are often not readily available. In these circumstances the macadamia nut (which is native to Australia) is a suitable, nutritious and readily-accepted alternative.[22] Coincidentally, the hyacinth macaw is one of the only birds with the necessary jaw strength to open the nut, which requires 300psi of pressure to crack the shell.[23]
Limited tool use has been observed in both wild and captive hyacinth macaws. Reported sightings of tool use in wild parrots go as far back as 1863. Examples of tool use that have been observed usually involve a chewed leaf or pieces of wood. Macaws often incorporate these items when feeding on harder nuts. Their use allows the nuts the macaws eat to remain in position (prevent slipping) while they gnaw into it. It is not known whether this is learned social behavior or an innate trait, but observation on captive macaws shows that hand-raised macaws exhibit this behavior, as well. Comparisons show that older macaws were able to open seeds more efficiently.[24]
Nesting takes place between July and December, with nests constructed in tree cavities or cliff faces depending on the habitat.[25] In the Pantanal region, 90% of nests are constructed in the manduvi tree (Sterculia apetala). The hyacinth macaw depends on the toucan for its livelihood. The toucan contributes largely to seed dispersal of the manduvi tree that the macaw needs for reproduction.[26] However, the toucan is responsible for dispersing 83% of the seeds of Sterculia apetala, but also consumes 53% of eggs preyed.[25] Hollows of sufficient size are only found in trees around 60 years of age or older, and competition is fierce.[26] Existing holes are enlarged and then partially filled with wood chips.[27] The clutch size is one or two eggs,[17] although usually only one fledgling survives[17] as the second egg hatches several days after the first, and the smaller fledgling cannot compete with the firstborn for food. A possible explanation for this behaviour is what is called the insurance hypothesis. The macaw lays more eggs than can be normally fledged to compensate for earlier eggs that failed to hatch or firstborn chicks that did not survive.[28] The incubation period lasts about a month, and the male tends to his mate whilst she incubates the eggs.[17] The chicks leave the nest, or fledge, around 110 days of age,[16] and remain dependent on their parents until six months of age.[17] They are mature and begin breeding at seven years of age. 041b061a72