Today’s animal is a fairly famous bird, and equally as colorful, the Macaw. The Macaw lives in South and Central America. The scientific categorization of the Macaw is Animalia, Chordata, Aves, Psittaciformes, Psittacidae, Arini. There is no specific name for the Macaws, as it is a family, but most Macaws are in the Endangered category. There are 17 different types of Macaws.

The Macaw is one of the largest species of bird in the world, reaching one meter in height. The average height of a man is 1.77 meters, to put in perspective. The Macaw is known for its bright plumage, which can be red, white, yellow, green blue, of a combination of the above!

However, Macaws are part of the parrot family, and are the largest parrot in the world. Like other parrots, Macaws have four claws on their feet, two facing forward, two facing backward. This helps them hold onto branches

An interesting thing about Macaws is that, like humans, they are one of the few animals that will typically keep one partner for breeding for the rest of their lives. A female Macaw lays about two eggs at a time, after which she will incubate them. The male hunts for both of them in that period, and the eggs hatch in a month or so.

The main reason for the Macaws endangered status is that it’s habitat is being deforested, and, to a lesser degree, the Macaw is hunted for their brilliant feathers. Another distinct ability of the Macaw is that, because Macaws are intelligent and sociable, they are able to mimic human sounds. A typical stereotype is “Polly wants a cracker!”

Macaws are a famous and endangered species. They might very well disappear without protection. But, if the deforesting stops, then these brilliant birds might stand a chance.