(Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)

Location: South America in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay

Habitat: lightly forested areas with seasonally flooded grasslands

As the largest parrot in the world, these birds measure about 40 inches and weigh about 2 ¾ pounds.  Their predominant color is a deep cobolt blue but they have a golden eye ring and a golden stripe on their lower mandible.  Their diet, in the Pantanal region, is largely made up of palm nuts from two species of trees: the acuri and the bocaiuva.  The nuts from the acuri come off the trees with a thick green covering.  They are eaten by cows and only the green covering is digested by the cow.  They are then sent through the digestive system and excreted.   The birds actually have been observed searching through piles of cow dung for theses nuts.  The nuts from the bocaiuva tree are eaten directly off the trees. 

Hyacinth macaws typically nest in tree cavities, however they have also been seen nesting in holes of cliff faces.  The macaws will enlarge pre-existing holes from woodpeckers or a broken tree limb.  They will line the large holes with sawdust from the tree.  Since these homes are so rare and coveted by other species of birds The Hyacinth Macaw Project, lead by Neiva Guedes in Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil), has placed several artificial nests in the region.  The first nests were placed in 1997, today there are over 170 of these nests.

Hyacinth macaws are extremely social birds.  They live in the wild as mated pairs.  Like other parrots, hyacinths tend to gather at the end of the day in roosting trees where they spend the night.  These birds make very loud vocalizations that include a variety of very loud, harsh, guttural squawks that can be heard over a mile away in the wild.  Mostly because of its massive size, these calls are much lower in frequency than calls of other macaws.

Their geographical range has not been reduced by much; however, their numbers have been drastically reduced by hunting, for their feathers and meat, and illegal pet trading.  These birds are sold in the pet trade for $7,000 - $10,000.  There are only an estimated 2,500 to 5,000 left in the wild.  In Brazil a biologist named Neiva Guedes has been in charge of a project for the conservation of the hyacinth macaw in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul for 10 years.  Due to their efforts they have seen a reappearance of groups of these birds in some areas, such as the region of Miranda.  The Hyacinth Macaw Project has been able to monitor more than 5,000 birds and monitors over 485 artificial and natural nests inside an area of 400,000 hectares.  With additional support and public education these birds have an optimistic future.

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REFERENCES

Foundation for the Preservation of the Hyacinth Macaw.  “The Hyacinth Macaw”. 
 http://www.hyacinthmacaw.org/hyacinthmacaw.htm

Reich, Monica.  “Hyacinth macaw”. 
http://www.whozoo.org/Anlife2001/monreich/mr_hyacinthmacaw.htm

World Wildlife Federation (WWF) – Brazil.  “Hyacinth macaw: Andorhynchus hyacinthinus”.
 http://www.wwf.org.br/english/informa/sitearara_principal.htm