The Hyacinth Tree - Macaws Of Course - The Pantanal, Brazil (Explored)
(Explore 9/11/13 lowest #343)
The Pantanal is mostly made up of large ranches and many of them decided to help secure the future of certain endangered species. This ranch was a nesting place of numerous macaws. At one time, I saw as many as two dozen or so birds gathered in the trees and flying thru the sky.
The Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), or Hyacinthine Macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about 100 cm (3.3 ft) it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species, though the flightless Kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it can be confused with the far rarer and smaller Lear's Macaw. Male and female are identical in external appearance, and juveniles resemble adults except they have shorter tails and the yellow on their faces is paler.
The Hyacinth Macaw is an endangered species due to the cage bird trade and habitat loss. In the 1980s, it is estimated that at least 10,000 birds were taken from the wild. Throughout the macaw’s range, habitat is being lost or altered due to the introduction of cattle ranching and mechanized agriculture, and the development of hydroelectric schemes. Annual grass fires set by farmers can destroy nest trees, and regions previously inhabited by this macaw are now unsuitable also due to agriculture and plantations. Locally, it has been hunted for food, and the Kayapo Indians of Gorotire in south-central Brazil use its feathers to make headdresses and other ornaments. While overall greatly reduced in numbers, it remains locally common in the Brazilian Pantanal, where many ranch-owners now protect the macaws on their land.
The Hyacinth Macaw is protected by law in Brazil and Bolivia, and commercial export is banned by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). There are a number of long-term studies and conservation initiatives in place; the Hyacinth Macaw Project in the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso do Sul, has carried out important research by ringing individual birds and has created a number of artificial nests to compensate for the small percentage of sites available in the region.
The majority of the hyacinth macaw diet is nuts from native palms, such as acuri and bocaiuva palms. They have a very strong beak for eating the kernels of hard nuts and seeds. Their strong beaks are even able to crack coconuts, the large brazil nut pods and macadamia nuts. The acuri nut is so hard that the parrots cannot feed on it until it has passed through the digestive system of cattle. In addition, they eat fruits and other vegetable matter. In the Pantanal, Hyacinth Macaws feed almost exclusively on the nuts of Acrocomia aculeata and Attalea phalerata palm trees. It flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms.These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyacinth_Macaw
Member of the Nature’s Spirit
Good Stewards of Nature
The Hyacinth Tree - Macaws Of Course - The Pantanal, Brazil (Explored)
(Explore 9/11/13 lowest #343)
The Pantanal is mostly made up of large ranches and many of them decided to help secure the future of certain endangered species. This ranch was a nesting place of numerous macaws. At one time, I saw as many as two dozen or so birds gathered in the trees and flying thru the sky.
The Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), or Hyacinthine Macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about 100 cm (3.3 ft) it is longer than any other species of parrot. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species, though the flightless Kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5 kg. While generally easily recognized, it can be confused with the far rarer and smaller Lear's Macaw. Male and female are identical in external appearance, and juveniles resemble adults except they have shorter tails and the yellow on their faces is paler.
The Hyacinth Macaw is an endangered species due to the cage bird trade and habitat loss. In the 1980s, it is estimated that at least 10,000 birds were taken from the wild. Throughout the macaw’s range, habitat is being lost or altered due to the introduction of cattle ranching and mechanized agriculture, and the development of hydroelectric schemes. Annual grass fires set by farmers can destroy nest trees, and regions previously inhabited by this macaw are now unsuitable also due to agriculture and plantations. Locally, it has been hunted for food, and the Kayapo Indians of Gorotire in south-central Brazil use its feathers to make headdresses and other ornaments. While overall greatly reduced in numbers, it remains locally common in the Brazilian Pantanal, where many ranch-owners now protect the macaws on their land.
The Hyacinth Macaw is protected by law in Brazil and Bolivia, and commercial export is banned by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). There are a number of long-term studies and conservation initiatives in place; the Hyacinth Macaw Project in the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso do Sul, has carried out important research by ringing individual birds and has created a number of artificial nests to compensate for the small percentage of sites available in the region.
The majority of the hyacinth macaw diet is nuts from native palms, such as acuri and bocaiuva palms. They have a very strong beak for eating the kernels of hard nuts and seeds. Their strong beaks are even able to crack coconuts, the large brazil nut pods and macadamia nuts. The acuri nut is so hard that the parrots cannot feed on it until it has passed through the digestive system of cattle. In addition, they eat fruits and other vegetable matter. In the Pantanal, Hyacinth Macaws feed almost exclusively on the nuts of Acrocomia aculeata and Attalea phalerata palm trees. It flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms.These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyacinth_Macaw
Member of the Nature’s Spirit
Good Stewards of Nature