Macaw Handpuppet 25cm

Physical Characteristics
Macaws are beautiful, brilliantly coloured members of the parrot family. Many macaws have vibrant plumage. The colouring is suited to life in Central and South American rain forests, with their green canopies and colourful fruits and flowers. The birds boast large, powerful beaks that easily crack nuts and seeds, while their dry, scaly tongues have a bone inside them that makes them an effective tool for tapping into fruits.

Habitat
Macaws are found throughout much of Central and South America, from Panama to northern tip of Argentina. Their habitat is mainly forests, especially those that grow in swampy ground or along rivers, but they stray to more open country when searching for food.

Behaviour
Macaws are intelligent, social birds that often gather in flocks of 10 to 30 individuals. Their loud calls, squawks, and screams echo through the forest canopy. Macaws vocalize to communicate within the flock, mark territory, and identify one another. Some species can even mimic human speech.

Breeding
Macaws typically mate for life. They not only breed with, but also share food with their mates and enjoy mutual grooming. In breeding season, mothers incubate eggs while fathers hunt and bring food back to the nest.

Diet
Most macaws feed on the fruit of trees, nuts, seeds, fruits and berries. The large macaws can crack even the hard-shelled Brazil nuts with their strong beak, extracting the kernels with the beak and tongue. Macaws can eat unripe seeds and fruits, those with tough shells and spines, or distasteful ones containing poisons - foods that other birds cannot deal with. Some macaws include flowers and nectar in their diet. Many macaws eat clay which they find on exposed river banks. This probably helps them to safely digest poisonous seeds and supplies them with minerals such as calcium and sodium

Strange and Interesting Facts
Did you know? The Hyacinth Macaw-the largest of all parrots-has an enormous wingspan of more than 4 feet (127 centimeters).