Home Sitemap New Pets!

Pet Dogs! Pet Cats Freshwater Fish Saltwater Fish Coral Reef Pet Birds Small Pets Reptiles Pet Supplies

Animal-World
Information

Special Features

Exotic Pet Bird Libraries African Grey Parrots Amazon Parrots Caiques Canaries Cockatiels Cockatoos Conures Doves / Pigeons Eclectus Parrots Finches Lorikeets Lovebirds Macaws Other Parrots Parakeets / Budgies Pionus Parrots Meyers Parrot Red Bellied Parrot Senegal Parrots
Pet Bird Information Basic Bird Care Bird Care Sheets Bird Care Books Hybrid Macaw Names

Animal-World > Pet Birds > Macaw Types > Blue and Gold Macaw

Blue and Gold Macaw More Pictures of Blue and Gold Macaw Your Comments

*Macaw Types Index*

Bird Training Videos

Parrot taming where you never get bitten.
Live video tutorials Chet teaches real parrots while you watch.
Build trust build trust with your Parrot.
Stop your Cockatoo or Conure's screaming!
Get your bird to come out of his cage willingly!
Amazing Video of trained parrots.
2 hours of parrot behavior specialists advice

Blue and Gold Macaw

Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Arini Picture of "Simba" a Blue and Gold Macaw

"Simba" Ara ararauna Photo © Animal-World. Courtesy: David Brough

Latest Reader Comment - See More

Hi, my wife and I have a 7 old named Nelly a.ka. Nellygirl. she is a very sweet and loveable bird that fits in with the family. she is definitely mamas baby. she get... (more) andre davis 2007-08-12

Simba, a handfed baby Blue and Gold Macaw, came to Exotic Tropicals pet store at the age of about 4 months and quickly became everybody's favorite! (...as is typical for a Blue and Gold Macaw!)

Not only is the Blue and Gold Macaw one of the most beautiful, but has one of the best all around personalities of the large macaws. They are affectionate, inquisitive, and intelligent. They make them a great companion not only for a single person but when well socialized are friendly with everyone, even other birds.

The Blue and Gold Macaw are one of the most readily available of the large macaws and also one of the least expensive.

For information about the care of Macaws see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Macaw

Geographic Distribution Ara ararauna


Data provided by GBIF

Scientific Name: Ara ararauna

Description:
Blue and Gold Macaws are among the most strikingly beautiful of the Macaw Family. They are a full size Macaw and can learn to talk with a general vocabulary of about 15 or more words or expressions. Although some Macaws are one-person type birds, the Blue and Gold is right at home in a family type situation also.

Care and feeding:
A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended periods. Many birds can spend most of their time on a play pen or parrot perch. They eat a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, commercial pellets, as well as the same nutritional foods humans eat.

Distribution:
The Blue and Gold Macaw's natural habitat runs from eastern Panama in Central America south across northern South America, extending to Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.

Size - Weight:
A full sized macaw, they can get over 2 lbs. Lengths up to 86 cm (34 inches).

Social Behaviors:
They are a typical macaw. The Blue and Gold Macaw is known to be a good family type bird. Even so they an be cranky at times and may prefer only men or or only women, etc.

Breeding/Reproduction:
The usual clutch consists of two or three eggs which incubate for about 28 days. The babies will fledge after about 3 months in the nest. Feed the parents plenty of greenstuffs, corn-on-the-cob, carrots, and fruit laced with food supplement while they are rearing the youngsters.

Sexual differences: No visible differences.

Potential Problems: Can be noisy (as can all macaws).

Availability: The Blue and Gold Macaw is generally available and are easy to obtain.

Latest Comments
Add your comment here!
Click to see All the comments!
Click to see all of the coolest comments!
Hi, my wife and I have a 7 old named Nelly a.ka. Nellygirl. she is a very sweet and loveable bird that fits in with the family. she is definitely mamas baby. she gets more love than me or our 3 girls. she loves anyone with food, she says words like want some(food), hello, whats up, ooch, un-unhh, step up, and when you wave your hand in the form of hi she says hi. and she can mimic anybody's sound (our kids taught her that). NELLY loves to groom mom and dad all the time. we love her so much that we plan on getting her a mate (she thinks mom is her mate). andre davis 2007-08-12
My wife, Rebecca, purchased my first B&G for my birthday day. Any one who has really ever known me has known that I wanted a B&G for a very long time. Since this is my first B&G it has been a learning experience. I never knew that they would be such a kick in the pants to own. Jack is now 8 months old and is already talking. He says love you Jack, good night, and he also says my wife's name. He is by far the smartest animal I have ever owned. I started seeing him, at the breeder's, as soon as possible, to earn his trust and bond with him. Jack takes naps with me, and plays like a cat all the time with me and my wife. My wife has taught him to do what we call dead bird. In which he lays on his back in her hand with his head laying down her forearm, and lays there like a dead bird. However dead birds dont squack, which we are working on. Jack is a member of our family. He eats, plays, and goes almost everywhere with us. I would highly recommend B&G's for almost anyone. Soon Jack will be saying Semper Fi and other Marine Corps things. I love my bird and always will. Christopher J. Steadman 2007-07-15
We have a B&G, 2 year old named Diego. He's great, matter of fact he's sitting on my shoulder right now as I type this. But he is LOUD! He screams so loud if you are eating in front of him that it makes your blood curdle. He's almost always affectionate and talkative. He loves to hug and kiss. He loves to go on walks and is always walking around the house too. He's just like having another kid, only more needy..LOL... I recommend a B&G for anyone who is willing to commit to a pet for quite possibly the rest of your life. Too often though these birds are given up because people are infatuated with the idea and don't know what they are getting themselves into. Too Love a bird is too Love for Life, remember that. Mike Penny 2007-05-20
pretty good website you got here!! i love macaws but i hate it how you encourage people to keep them as pets its horrible so im not to happy with that but its a good site for information... renee 2007-03-12
My Blue and Gold, Comet, is the sweetest thing. Though he is big, he is very cuddly and gentle (though everyone gets cranky). He gets along very well with my Scarlet Macaw Ralph. He even likes to say hi to my cockatiels Joey and Mico and my Sun Conure, Lucas. He loves to play on his 3 playstands around the house and boogie in his outdoor aviary with Ralph. His favorite foods are chicken, veggie pizza, and fresh pineapple,and he loves to toss around peas that are still in the pod! These animals are beautiful and amazing companions, but you do have to be experienced to have these birds. Jonie 2007-01-31
Some of the coolest comments:
We have had birds for a year and a half now, but just got our baby blue and gold about a month ago. He is a totally different experience. He is such a joy to be with. He is seven months old and so loving. He loves for you to hug him and kiss him. He will lay on his back for you to tickle his belly and laughs. He follows us around like a little puppy. Our family says we talk about our birds more than most people do about their kids. I tell them that is alright because they are our kids. kathy 2004-03-10
My husband and I have 2 Blue and Gold name Gina 9 yrs,and Sunny is 1yr. These 2 birds have been a joy to have. They are extremely smart birds. Gina and Sunny will eat just about anything we eat. They are very playful and can say a few words. Gina loves to yell momma and Sunny practice her words at night when we put her to bed. When she says hey her eyes will always flash and she will get right up to you and say Hey! They are the joy of our life!! Lisa and Derrell Williams 2004-01-23
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
This is a wonderful site. The photos are beautiful, especially of the blue and gold macaw. I can see why people become bird enthusiasts. RAM Savannah, GA reva 2007-06-10
Hi,I have a B&G Macaw. He is 4 Months old and we are having so much fun. What a wonderfull Bird :-) Thanks to Animal World for the free Information that they share on Macaws. This website helped alot, Thank you Jeremy Stevens 2006-09-03
i have many birds and other animals that i take care of and this site helped me alot with learning more about them. Sammy 2006-03-05

Back to Macaws

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS

Your Market Research Here

10 steps to help your PARROT stop BITING!

click for more info on each step...

#1: Discover parrot taming techniques where you never get bitten.
#2: Download 'live' and free videos of parrots being trained
#3: Build trust with your African Grey
#4: Put an end to your Cockatoo or Conure's screaming
#5: Sign up for FREE 3 day parrot training e-course
#6: Get over 120 minutes of parrot behavior specialists powerful advice
Click Here to read steps
#7 - #10

Blue and Gold Macaw

Simba, a handfed baby Blue and Gold Macaw, came to Exotic Tropicals pet store at the age of about 4 months and quickly became everybody's favorite! (...as is typical for a Blue and Gold Macaw!)

For information about the care of Macaws see: Guide to a Happy, Healthy Macaw

For information about the care of Macaws see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Macaw