Macaw

Status: Vulnerable.

Range: Central & South America.

Habitat: Heavily forested areas.

Food: Nuts, seeds, fruits, & berries.

Reproduction: Gender is not easily determined (sexually monomorphic), DNA testing is recommended. Sexual maturity is reached in the 4th year of life. Usually they will lay 2 or 3 elliptical eggs in tree cavity nests high above the ground. Incubation is about 28 days. Females incubate the eggs, but both parents feed the young.

Facts: Macaws form strong pair bonds and mate for life. Wild macaws congregate at clay cliffs to lick and eat the clay. Scientists speculate that this behavior adds salts and minerals to their diet, or else detoxifies the chemicals present in some of the seeds they eat.