World of Birds
Scarlet Macaw ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! By Natalie Rogers
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World of Birds
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Table of Contents !
Introduction………………..3 !
Body………………………..4 !
Feathers and Colour………..5 !
Diet…………………………6 !
The future for this bird…….7 !
Five Fun Facts………………8 !
More books…………………9 Bibliography……………….10 ! ! !2
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Introduction This bird is the most beautiful of the macaw family. It loves to nest in tree cavities and some captive bred Scarlet Macaws are even learning to talk. ! ! !
But this bird is in great danger. That danger is our fault and we’re the only ones who can stop this. ! !
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Chapter 1 Body The scarlet macaw is very beautiful. We think of it as a parrot, but the macaw family is just a relative to the parrot. The body features strong wings which include hollow bones to aid flight. !
This bird is the largest of the neotropical pets. The average scarlet macaw is about 90 cm long from the head to the end of the tail. Males have longer tails and bills than females, but males and females both look the same. ! ! !4
World of Birds
Chapter 2 Feathers and Colour !
The scarlet macaw wears a coat of red, yellow and blue. ! !
Scarlet macaws have red on the head shoulders and the tail. Yellow feathers are seen in the middle of the body and blue is seen on the lower body. ! ! !
Scarlet macaws are considered the prettiest of all macaw species. ! !5
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Chapter 3 Diet This bird eats many foods. Scarlet macaws eat vegetable matter, nuts and seeds. They also eat clay from river banks, though nobody knows why. !
Scarlet macaws have a strong mouth. They use a strong curved beak to crack open hard nuts and seeds. Scarlet macaws also have a very strong tongue which can hold onto a kernel and pull it out of its shell. ! ! !6
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Chapter 4 The future for this bird !
One problem is that people are intensely attracted to this bird’s beauty. People are trapping Scarlet macaws for its feathers to use for decoration and the illegal pet trade. !
Another problem is habitat loss. People have been cutting down and burning the rainforest for farms, houses and the trees to make paper. !
This bird is not recommended as a pet because they prefer life in the rainforest and they are really noisy. Really, you would have to be crazy to have a macaw as a pet. ! ! !7
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Five Fun Facts ! 1.The longest a scarlet macaw would ever live in captivity is about 75 years, but in the wild they live about 30 to 50 years. ! ! 2.The scarlet macaw now lives in the Central and South American rain forests. ! ! 3.With their wide strong wings, the scarlet macaw can reach speeds of 35 mph. ! ! 4.Scarlet macaws find a mate that will last them for the rest of their lives. ! ! 5.Only captive bred scarlet macaws can talk. No scarlet macaw in the wild can talk unless they were released into the wild after learning to talk. ! !8
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More books in “World of Birds” !
Blue and gold macaw !
Hyacinth macaw !
Red and green macaw !
Great green macaw !
Macaw !
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World of Birds
Bibliography At Fort Worth Zoo. Photograph. Wikimedia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Kenyon, Linda J. Rainforest Bird Rescue: Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2006. Print. A Pair of Scarlet Macaws at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida. Photograph. Wikimedia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Scarlet Macaw Eats Clay. Photograph. Inka Natura. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. "Scarlet Macaw." Fact Sheet. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Scarlet Macaw Pair. Photograph. Wikipedia. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Scarlet Macaw. Photograph. Birds 4 U Aviary. Web. Scarlet Macaw. Photograph. Birds Photographer. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Scarlet Macaws Flying. Photograph. Yale. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
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