The blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot. It is a member of the large group of Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It inhabits forest (especially varzea, but also in open sections of terra firme or non-flooded forest) and woodland of tropical South America.
These birds can reach 85 cm long and weigh 0.900–1.5 kg, making it one of the larger members of its family. They are vivid in appearance with blue wings and tail, dark blue chin, golden under parts, and a green forehead. Beaks are black. The naked face is white, turning pink in excited birds, and lined with small black feathers. Blue-and-yellow macaws live from 30 to 35 years in the wild and reach sexual maturity between the ages of 3 and 6 years.
The blue-and-yellow macaw generally mates for life. They nest almost exclusively in dead palms.The female typically lays two or three eggs. The female incubates the eggs for about 30 days. One chick is dominant and gets most of the food; the others perish in the nest. Chicks fledge from the nest about 90-100 days after hatching. The male bird’s color signals readiness for breeding. The brighter and bolder the colors the better the chance of getting a mate is.
They are popular in aviculture because of their striking color, ability to talk, ready availability in the marketplace, and close bonding to humans.
Macaws primarily eat nuts, seeds and fruits. In captivity they require a varied diet; a seed only diet will lead to health problems such as vitamin deficiency. An example of a good diet would be a quality pelleted mix, in conjunction with a mix featuring seed, nuts, and dried fruits, with fresh vegetables (greens and roots) and fruits fed regularly; furthermore, it is quite common (and appreciated by the parrot) to partake with their human owners of safe foods like pasta, bread, etc. It is important to avoid foods with high fat content (generally) while striving to provide a wide variety of foods.
Blue-and-yellow macaws are popular as pets because of their vivid appearance and ability as a talking bird; however, their large size makes accommodation problematic, and they tend to require more effort and knowledge from owners than more traditional pets such as cats or dogs. They are very intelligent and social birds, thus for people with basic training skills they make great companion parrots. Even the most well-tended blue-and-yellow macaw will “scream” and make other loud noises. Loud vocalizations, especially “flock calls”, and destructive chewing are natural parts of their behavior and should be expected in captivity. Due to their large size, they also require plentiful space in which to fly around. According to World Parrot Trust, an enclosure for a blue-and-yellow macaw should, if possible, be at least 15 m (50 ft) in length.
