Macaw Vs. Parrot – What Are The Main Differences Between Them

Macaw vs. parrot needs a great discussion to differentiate them. Psittaciformes are the largest bird order and both parrots and macaws including cockatoos, and parakeets lie under this order. There are 350 species belong to this family. There are some specific features that every member holds.The claws are zygodactyl having two toes backwards and the other two facings forward.

These unique features make them different from other birds. Within this wide group, there are three more subgroups. One is Pisttacoidea, macaws, and parrots both belong to this same group despite having differences.  Before discussing macaw vs. parrot, let’s have a brief overview of parrots and macaws

Macaw Vs. Parrot – Things Need To Know About Parrots

There are about 400 such colourful species of parrots. The parrots are 3 to 40 inches large. They have different bills and have soft cere near nostrils. The feet are grasping type and mostly live in the form of groups. Male and female parrots are the same.

1. General Behaviour Of Parrots:

They love to eat seeds and nuts. The bulk of the menu includes fruits, nectars, and insects. They have a melodious voice. The sound range varies greatly. They can adopt diverse vocalizations. They produce short screams and sing songs as well.

Such birds also communicate with each other through different movements and sounds. These are the perfect example of social birds. These intelligent birds are capable to learn a lot. So, you can train them in the way you desire to.

2. Habitat Of The Parrot:

A comparison like a macaw vs. parrot can reveal different habitats. The true parrots have diverse habitat. They can live in urban surroundings and jungles as well.

The main habitats are the rain forests, woodlands, grasslands, palm forests, deserts, savannas, scrubland, and many more. The preference varies specie to specie. Some like to live in gardens and parks but others choose forests.

They enjoy their life from tree to tree and climb over there with feet and beaks. When breeding season comes, the parrot pair get separated from the rest of the flock.

3. Macaw Vs. Parrot – Parrot’s Care

As the parrots are social birds so, they need a vast open space to live and exercise. The parrot cages or any enclosure must be spacious enough. Place different chewable toys in that cage or some toys to make it a happy place for your parrots.

They need positive attention and facilities to climb and perch according to its nature. You can feed them some seeds and fruits and vegetables. You can also provide them with commercially available food for parrots.

4. Reproduction Of A Parrot:

Most parrots live in nests and reproduce. At a time they produce 6 to 9 eggs. Incubation takes 19 to 30 days to complete. The parrots produce up to 6-9 eggs per brood and this takes around 19-30 days to incubate. After hatching in nests, parents feed their offsprings by regurgitation.

In some species, female parrots incubate the egg and males bring food to them. The offsprings develop feathers in 4 months and they depend on their parent till they start flying.

Interesting Facts About Macaws

The largest form of parrots. They are similar to parakeets. Mostly they are found in South America and Mexico. These are the colourful, big and intelligent parrots. You can enjoy the sight of flying these macaws in thick rain forests. Following are some interesting facts about these macaws.

1. Unique Characteristics:

These re the long-lived birds. Macaws love to exercise at least 2 to 4 hours a day. There is bare skin portion having some feathers on it in a row. These feathers from face down to the bill. This makes it different from other birds.

To discuss macaw vs. parrot here are some unique features. There is the intricate pattern of feathers around bare skin which is a unique feature. This somehow looks like our fingerprints. The tail feathers of macaws are relatively longer than parrots so can do a comparison as macaw vs. parrot.

2. Macaw Vs. Parrot – Macaw’s temperament:

They are exuberantly active birds. Their play full personality match the size. Macaws need full attention to grow better and become a very good friend of you. They need proper nutrition, spacious environment, mental stimulation and man more.

Such birds are also very challenging if they are not receiving much care and enrichment environment. They may turn very aggressive birds. You will face a lot of problems to handle it.

So, it is recommended to train the macaws from the very beginning when they born. These intelligent birds can easily train to feed by hand feeding and not to nip and scream. They easily learn to sing and talk.

3. Vocalization Of Macaws:

Generally, macaws are noisy and very loud. They scream too much even to the level you cannot bear anymore. This is not a good pet if you get annoyed by noise too soon.

They are very quick learners and mimic your dialogue. The best talking species are blue and gold macaws.

4. Colours Of Macaws:

The macaws are the bords with variety of colours. You can find one with multi colours on it. some common macaws are hyacinth, scarlet, blue, gold and military. The mini macaws are also available, but they are rare. This includes illiger, Hahn’s, and yellow collared macaw.

You will find extreme colour variations. Feathers contain colours look like a rainbow. Furthermore, there are some hybrid macaws called rainbow macaws and Catalina.

5. Macaw Vs. Parrot – Caring For Macaw:

Well, you have to invest enough to have this pet. Adjust the large cage in place that must be durable. Medium cages are good for small kinds of macaws. But for larger macaws, you need to arrange a 5 feet tall cage. The cage must withstand the force exerted by macaws. A stainless steel cage is a perfect option.

There is proper need of out of cage exercise and perch. Wooden toys are a good treat for these birds. Place some hanging and climbing toys there to engage your pets in playful activities.

The macaws are very prone to loneliness and boredom. Stress and depression let them injure themselves by nipping feathers. To overcome this, take more macaws so that they interact and become happy. Another way is to place the cage where you have loud and interactive life.

6. Food For Macaws:

They eat various nuts, seeds, fruits, and plants. If you have macaw pets, give them pelleted food special for macaws. You can also feed them fresh fruits and many vegetables. Add 10 per cent of seeds and nuts in their diet and 50 per cent of pelleted food.

It is estimated that macaws consume 10 to 15 % of body weight. The good timings to feed your pet is morning and at dusk. Furthermore, add some snacks to the diet like chocolates, salty or any sugary items, caffeine, and avocado. You can provide them with treats like pasta or cereals as well.

Macaw Vs. Parrot – Main Differences Between Them

Although both macaw and parrot belong to the same group Psittacidae. But here is mentioned some points regarding macaw vs. parrot to discuss the main differences and similarities between them.

1. Macaw vs. Parrot – Classification:

There is a large group of birds that have the same characteristics and behaviours. Parrots and many other alike birds e.g. parakeets, macaws, and cockatoos. True parrots are part of a family named Psittacidae. It also has other six genera. macaws belong to these genera. So, you can say that macaw is one of the types of parrots. Their subfamily is arinae.

2. Macaw Vs. Parrot – Distribution:

The parrots are the sort of free birds. You can find them everywhere. There are no geographical restrictions in their way. Prime habitat of parrots is southern hemisphere. There are not only found in tropical regions. They also migrate to certain areas and live in the form of colonies especially they form breeding colonies.

On the other hand, macaws are limited to certain regions. They are abundantly present in tropical rain forests. They exist in woodlands of central Mexico. Another area where they thrive and breed in South America.

3. Biological Comparison Of Macaw Vs. Parrot:

Parrots favourite food menu includes seeds, fruits, nuts, nectars, and insects. The macaws have foraging nature and they eat a wide variety of items in addition to these. They can live on leaves, flowers, palm fruits and stems as well.

It has been observed in Amazon that they also eat clay. This clay is meant to neutralize the other dietary substances. The monogamous parrots mostly nest in burrows. Macaws also nest in trees and hollows in riverbanks. They are monogamous too.

The macaws and other large parrots mature in few years and reproduction rate is slightly low. They do not produce eggs each year necessarily but if do, there would be only one or two hatchings. While the true parrots or smaller parrots produce 6 to 9 eggs up to three broods every year.

Morphological analysis of macaw vs, parrots shows that macaws are larger than parrots. Macaws have a long feathered tail and have bare skin patches on the face that are absent in parrots.

Conclusion

Thus, here we have discussed both the parrots and macaws. You can easily go through macaw vs. parrot. And all the similarities and differences have been discussed so far in detail. The appearance, behaviour, habitat, feeding, care, reproduction, and certain varieties all are reflected here with key points.

Henceforth, you can easily get any minor detail regarding macaw vs. parrot in this article. You will find a concise comparison with all facts and figures.