Scarlet Macaws are Left Handed! Who Knew?

There are a variety of macaws. I will only be focusing on red macaws.


Interesting facts about red macaws

Red macaws, or Scarlet Macaws as they are properly named, are birds from the macaw or parrot family. Most of them live in sub-tropical and tropical rainforests and can live up to 70 years in captivity, but only about 30 in the wild. Their feathers show a beautiful combination of yellow, red, blue, white, and green. The best features are along the tail and white bill.

They can be found in Central and South America as well as a few other countries. They are mostly bright scarlet red and gather in flocks of up to 30 to 40 individuals. Talk about a family reunion! Some can even mimic the voices of people. ("Polly wants a cracker" isn't the best they can do). From beak to tail they can be as large as 33 inches making them the largest parrots in the world.

In this beautiful video, shot in Costa Rica, you can see them in flight, in the trees, and at play:



Now here is some trivia bout them.

* They can often be seen on the shoulders of pirates in art.

* Their eye color can let you know if they are young or old.

* They can measure almost a meter one yard and 3 inches including the tail and can have a wingspan of up to 5 feet.

* Most scarlet macaws live alone or in pairs, but will group for certain activities such as flying or licking minerals from certain clays.

* Like other parrots, they are actually left handed.

Here's a question for you. How many names for a macaw can you think of? There are a lot of varieties.