Macaw Birds: Types, Temperament, and Care Tips

Macaws are known as the big birds of the parrot world. Consideration for this bird’s larger-than-life needs is especially important when deciding whether to keep a macaw as a pet.

What Is a Macaw?

The signature look of a macaw bird is long tail feathers, vibrantly colored plumage, and large, powerful beaks. Some species of macaws, like blue-and-gold and scarlet macaws, stand out because of their bare facial patches.

Macaws are native to Central and South America, as well as Mexico. Within their native areas, macaws inhabit a variety of environments, including rainforests, grasslands, and woodlands.

Macaw parrots vary in size, from the much smaller mini-macaw species that measure from 10–12 inches from head to tail feathers, to the large hyacinth macaw, which measures up to 40 inches long.

Types of Macaws

The most common macaws available as pets include:

• Blue macaw, including blue throat, Spix’s, and Lear’s macaw

• Scarlet macaw

• Blue-and-gold macaw

• Hyacinth macaw

• Green-winged macaw

• Catalina macaw

• Severe macaw

• Harlequin macaw

• Hahn’s macaw

Caring for a Macaw

Macaw parrots are generally best suited for experienced bird parents or those fully prepared to meet the needs of such a large, intelligent parrot, also keeping in mind that the average macaw lifespan is 30 to 50 years.

Everything about macaws seems bold, from their big voices to their strong personalities. Even the mini-macaws embody a big and bold presence. While a macaw might come across as intimidating, those who offer nurturing guidance know them as affectionate and sensitive companions.

Expect a macaw parrot to be loud and raucous at times. They are not ideal companions for those living in close quarters with neighbors, especially with shared walls like apartments and condos.

Macaws live in small, social flocks in the wild, so a pet macaw needs regular interaction and should feel like a valued member of the household “flock.” Macaws are not well-suited for those who are frequently away from home or too busy to offer frequent, positive interactions, as boredom and inattention can lead to excessive vocalizations, aggression, and feather-plucking behavior.

Macaw Health Issues

A well-cared-for macaw is generally healthy. However, macaws are susceptible to certain diseases and conditions.

Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD)

PDD is often referred to as macaw wasting disease, as it was first documented in macaws. However, other species of parrots are susceptible to this condition as well.

The disease causes muscle wasting, excessive regurgitation, and dilation of the proventriculus (the glandular portion of the stomach). PDD is incurable, but there are treatments to help reduce inflammation.

Feather Plucking

Macaws are also prone to feather-destructive behaviors.

This can be attributed to boredom, an environment lacking enrichment, or both. It could also be medically related. A veterinary exam can help rule out possible medical causes.

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease

Macaws can also have an elevated risk for psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD), a potentially fatal viral disease that leads to malformation of the beak and nails and feather loss. There is no cure for PBFD, and a bird showing signs of the disease should be isolated from other birds to prevent the spread of infection.

As with most diseases and conditions, annual health checkups with your avian veterinarian can help diagnose, treat, and possibly prevent disease progression.

Since macaws typically have long lifespans, pet insurance can provide peace of mind by helping you manage unexpected veterinary costs and treatments. However, many companies do not include birds in insurance policies or offer limited coverage. It’s worth exploring all options available.

What To Feed a Macaw

A good macaw diet should be based on a high-quality formulated pellet, like the Lafeber Premium Daily Diet or Harrison’s Adult Lifetime food, along with fresh veggies, especially green leafy vegetables, and small amounts of fruit as a treat.

Compared to other parrots, macaws typically tolerate more fat in their diet, so healthy nuts that are unsalted and unseasoned can be offered as occasional treats. Safe nuts for your macaw include:

• Walnuts

• Almonds

• Brazil nuts

• Macadamia nuts

Macaw beaks are strong enough to crack hard nuts like walnuts and macadamia nuts, and this is an excellent way to use food as enrichment.

Home Sweet Home! Macaw Cage Requirements

The large size of macaws often translates to higher expenses compared to other parrot companions because most items will be “XL” in size. A macaw cage must be spacious enough for their wide wingspan and tall enough to accommodate their long tail feathers.

• For large macaws, such as blue-and-gold, scarlet, green-winged and hyacinth macaws, a minimum cage floor size would be 30-by-48 and 60 to 72 inches in height, with 1- to 1¼-inch bar spacing. Consider cages like the Prevue Pet Products Empire Bird Cage for these large birds.

• For mini-macaw species like Hahn’s and severe macaws, cage floor size should be around 30-by-20 inches, with a height of at least 30 inches and 3/4- to 1-inch bar spacing. Check out cages like the Prevue Pet Products Wrought Iron Cage.

In addition to offering enough space for a bird to fly around unhindered, a macaw’s cage must also accommodate their large-sized toys and a variety of perches.

Macaw Temperament and Behavior

Macaws enjoy having toys to chew, especially parrot-safe wood to chew and destroy. Toys for your macaw to destroy should be factored into a pet parent’s monthly expenses. They also enjoy hanging toys to toss and fling around.

These curious and active parrots need safe out-of-cage opportunities as well, so also budget for a large play stand or play tree for your macaw to climb and explore. Macaws also need foraging activities that mimic natural behaviors, so offer puzzle toys and foraging opportunities to keep them happily occupied.

A macaw might playfully lunge forward in a way that startles people, but this is often done in fun rather than aggression, as they enjoy the reactions they get. Macaw species with bare facial patches will flush with color when the bird is excited.

With proper socialization and positive interactions, macaws can become gentle, affectionate pets. Due to their large size and powerful beaks, the best way to interact with them is while they are perched on a play stand or tree gym—rather than on you.

Do Macaws Talk?

While macaws can learn to mimic speech, whistle, and imitate household or outdoor sounds, their talking ability varies by individual and species.

• Large macaws tend to be better talkers, with blue-and-gold and green-winged macaws cited as chattier than others.

• Mini-macaws can learn to talk, but their voices tend to be less clear and higher-pitched. Hahn’s macaws have a reputation for being the chattiest of the mini macaws.

Every macaw is unique, and some individuals can surprise you with their talking ability, which can range from a few words to whole sentences. However, as with all companion parrots, some might never speak a word.

Macaw Parrot Grooming Guide

Macaw Nail Care

A macaw’s nails can become overgrown, especially if they lack enough variety of perching options, such as varying widths and textures to keep them naturally worn down.

Unless you have been taught how to safely restrain and trim your macaw’s nails, it’s best to leave this to a professional bird groomer or avian veterinarian. Bird nails typically need to be trimmed about once a month.

Macaw Beak Care

Offering your macaw “busy beak work” (such as toys to destroy, nuts to crack, and perches to rub their beak against) will help maintain a healthy beak length and lessen the need for beak grooming. A healthy macaw should never need their beak groomed.

It’s normal for a macaw’s beak to show flakes, which doesn’t require filing and polishing. A macaw’s beak is quite sensitive, so polishing (oftentimes done more for aesthetics), should be done by a professional bird groomer.

A beak groom might be necessary, however, if it becomes overgrown or crooked due to nutritional deficiency, injury, or disease. Beak trimming to treat an overgrown beak is a medical procedure that must be performed by an avian veterinarian.

Caring for Macaw Feathers

Consider the following tips when caring for your macaw’s feathers:

• A balanced, pellet-based diet including healthy veggies and nuts is important for keeping feathers healthy.

• Ideally, your macaw should spend supervised time outside in a safe cage/enclosure so they can soak up the health benefits of natural sunlight.

• Use full-spectrum lighting indoors around your bird’s cage. This mimics the benefits of natural sunlight.

You can also help your macaw maintain healthy feathers by providing plenty of bathing opportunities to keep their feathers cleaned and preened. Most people will simply take them into the shower with them a few times a week. Provide your macaw with a handy shower perch like Polly's Pet Products Sandy Window & Shower Bird Perch.