Great Green Macaw

On Being A Great Green Macaw

Hi, I’m Coco, a great green macaw. We are known for being very colorful birds and we great green macaws do not disappoint on that front! Both males and females have bright green feathers that cover our bodies, blue feathers on our backs and tails, and a red feathered forehead! Our faces are also pinker than you may see with other macaws. So overall, yeah, we are quite the rainbow! 

When it comes to nesting and noshing, we great green macaws have a strong preference for Mountain Almond trees. (While humans may be able to nosh the nuts grown on our favorite trees depending on the variety of tree, they are definitely NOT the almonds you would generally eat.) They have large trunks and tower over other trees in our forests. Plus, they live for hundreds of years! What’s not to love?! 

Looking out from my perch, I can see how powerful my tree is. I can also hear the sounds of the rainforest all around me: the cicadas are buzzing, tree frogs are croaking, and tropical songbirds are trilling. Above it all, the calls of other macaws echo through the forest. We are rather loud, of course, and don’t mind talking one bit. In fact, if you’re interested, I’d love to tell you all about life as a great green macaw!

A Hatch Made In Heaven

One day, I just hatched. Mom was sitting atop my egg in our cozy little home, nestled inside the cavity in a Mountain Almond tree trunk and Dad was roosting just outside it. As I entered this world, my eyes were closed, I weighed just shy of an ounce (23 grams), and I had nary a feather on my little body. Mom immediately squawked at Dad to announce my arrival. 

Being an only chick, both my parents doted on me. Mom stayed with me almost full-time to keep me warm. She’d depart for a short time when Dad brought her food but would come right back to me after that. For his part, Dad stayed right outside our home to guard me. And both of them regurgitated meals – primarily fruit with some seeds thrown in for good measure – to feed me every few hours.  

I guess you could say my outlook improved after two weeks when my eyes finally opened. (Get it? Because I could finally see! Hahaha!) By then, I was sporting a layer of gray down feathers. Within another week, my more colorful feathers began to sprout. I was still nest-bound back then and entertained myself by playing with twigs and flapping against the walls of our treehouse.

Things began to change when I hit two and a half months. By then, most of my juvenile plumage was in and Mom and Dad had started spending a little more time away from our home so they could forage together. Since I suddenly had more time on my wings, I got curious and ventured to the edge of our nest – a first for me! From there, I quickly took the next step in my development and started practicing my perching, stretching, and flapping.

Winging It

When I was three months old, I took the proverbial leap and then  . . .  I flew! At first, I was rather clumsy, and definitely not as graceful as my parents. Over time, though, I became more confident and familiar with the motions and soon I was flying right beside my parents! 

It was after I began to fly that my parents began teaching me how to feed myself so I wouldn’t have to rely on their mushy food. As they perched beside me, they showed me how to use my feet and beak for eating. But alas, even though our beaks are designed to crack into hard nuts, they were still too tough for me at this stage. Instead, I stuck to softer foods like fruits and seeds. I was still just learning to use my feet and beak, after all.

As I became more self-reliant, Mom and Dad stopped feeding me. But that was all right with me because I was able to forage right alongside them. And after some effort and a lot of perseverance, I was able to crack into my first nut. Before you get too sassy about how long this took me, all I can say is that it is harder than it looks! It takes a lot of strength to rotate nuts into a better position with your beak and feet! Of course, it helps that we have bones in our tongues to help crack into them. 

Pair Bonding with My Guy

When I was a year and a half old, I separated from my parents in favor of a flock of other young birds. Within my new crew, we relied on each other to stay safe and to navigate this new world of adulthood. And better yet, we followed the same basic routine my parents had instilled in me.

When I turned six years old, something within me changed and I craved a new kind of companionship. Around that time, I began to notice Abbott. He was a member of the same flock and close to my age, so we hung out pretty often.  While I had flirted with other males (sometimes even more than one at a time! Tehe!), Abbott and I grew closer and even (gasp!) preened each other. Eventually we began eating together and then one day, Abbott regurgitated food directly into my mouth. That really showed me what a good and capable provider he was! 

As our bond was permanently forged, we spent all of our time together, including eating and roosting. We also enjoyed flying next to each other with our wings almost touching. Eventually, we took the opportunity to establish a new territory and then a good nesting site within it. We found ourselves a nice Mountain Almond tree with a large cavity high up and away from predators. 

After a month of settling in, I laid two eggs. (Two to three is typical, but one – like me! – is not uncommon.) It was then my duty to sit on the nest while Abbott fetched me food. I could get used to this! After a month, I heard some cracking sounds and both of my eggs hatched! Abbott and I became the proud parents of two baby girls: Selva and Orchid. 

Just as my parents worked together to raise me, I now split chick care with Abbott; we are raising our children together. Our girls, and future chicks that will come every year or two, will depend on us longer than some other animal species, as we are longer lived (around 50 years in the wild). I enjoy teaching them all the things I love doing as a macaw, like shrieking, bathing, preening, and manipulating objects with my beak. Oh, and eating Mountain Almond nuts! 

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about us in a nutshell! (Get it?  Hahahahah!)

Returning the Favor.

Since you’re considering helping us, I’d like to return the favor.  We great green macaws are devoted to our families. We form strong pair bonds, typically staying with the same mate for life, and we work together to raise our young. Our chicks remain with us for several years as we patiently teach them how to find food, avoid danger, and thrive in the rainforest. If there’s one lesson I’d hope you’ll take from us, it’s that life is richer when we invest in the people we love. Family, friendship, and community help all of us weather life’s storms, and loyalty is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other.

We are also intelligent, playful, and endlessly curious as we investigate new objects and solve problems. That curiosity makes life more interesting. I hope you’ll never lose your own sense of wonder. Ask questions. Try something new. Wander down a trail you’ve never explored before. You never know what beauty, adventure, or opportunity may be waiting just around the corner.

And don’t forget to look up once in a while. Whether it’s watching birds soar overhead, listening to the sounds of the forest, or simply spending a quiet moment outdoors, nature has a remarkable way of reminding us that we’re part of something much larger than ourselves.

Perhaps that’s the greatest lesson we great green macaws can share: treasure those you love, stay curious, and never stop appreciating the incredible world you’ve been given to explore.

For more information on macaws and their conservation efforts, check out websites like the Macaw Recovery Network or watch a live great green macaw nest video here

Special thanks to Sarah Vinings for writing the first draft and to Dr. Timothy Wright of New Mexico State University and Alexander Allison, M.S., former graduate student at New Mexico State University for serving as an expert advisor on great green macaws.