Description
Scarlet macaws are not quite popular in Nigeria but they may be found at zoos and bird parks and in rich Nigerian homes. Scarlet macaws were first introduced into Nigeria during the colonial era, mostly by administrators who kept them as pets. Scarlet macaws are normally found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. They use to live in both evergreen and deciduous forests but since deforestation has became so rampant they have started migrating to places like South Africa. Scarlet macaws form monogamous bonds with their mate for life. Scarlet macaws breed between 3-5 eggs per season. 1 month after hatching the young start eating seeds.
Scarlet Macaws’ natural habitats is tropical & subtropical moist lowland forests, subtropical & tropical swamps, and heavily degraded former forest 1 . Scarlet macaws like all parrots normally live in flocks of up to about 8-10 Scarlet Macaws 1 , they use to be found throughout most of the Amazon Basin but now that deforestation has increased they have been forced into smaller and smaller areas. Scarlet Macaws eat mainly palm nuts and fruits such as: Araucaria ( monkey puzzle tree) Bertholletia excelsa (Brazil nut), Oenocarpus bataua, Astrocaryum aculeatum, Euterpe edulis and Attalea speciosa.
The Scarlet Macaws feed mostly on seeds fruit and nuts. They use their body weight to crack open the nuts and seeds, Scarlet Macaws have been known to also feed on eggs from other birds that nest in holes in trees. Scarlet macaws have a very long life span that varies depending on the care they get, for example Scarlet macaws in captivity live up to 50 years of age while in the wild Scarlet macaws can live up to 40 years. Scarlet Macaws are very loud animals but they don’t scream all day rather there is a specific time when Scarlet macaws use their voices. On early mornings and late afternoons you will here the Scarlet macaw calling out its name “kra-kra-kra” which can be heard from about half a mile away.
Scarlet macaws are intelligent animals and have a very good memory. Scarlet macaws can easily be trained to do a number of things for example. Scarlet Macaws also use their memory to locate important landmarks like rivers, fruit trees etc since Scarlet Macaw babies who stay with their parents only up to 4 years learn these landmarks from them.
