Blue and Gold Macaw

Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Arini
Scientific Name: Ara ararauna

Description:
Blue and Gold Macaws are among the most strikingly beautiful of the Macaw Family. They are a full size Macaw and can learn to talk with a general vocabulary of about 15 or more words or expressions. Although some Macaws are one-person type birds, the Blue and Gold is right at home in a family type situation also.

Care and feeding:
A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch. They eat a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat.

Distribution:
The Blue and Gold Macaw's natural habitat runs from eastern Panama in Central America south across northern South America, extending to Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.

Size - Weight:
A full sized macaw, they can get over 2 lbs. Lengths up to 86 cm (34 inches).

Social Behaviors:
They are a typical macaw. The Blue and Gold Macaw is known to be a good family type bird. Even so they an be cranky at times and may prefer only men or or only women, etc.

Breeding/Reproduction:
The usual clutch consists of two or three eggs which incubate for about 28 days. The babies will fledge after about 3 months in the nest. Feed the parents plenty of greenstuffs, corn-on-the-cob, carrots, and fruit laced with food supplement while they are rearing the youngsters.

Sexual differences: No visible differences.