The Hyacinth Macaw

     Imagine: you are visiting in Brazil when out of the corner of your eye, you see a blue blur flash past. As you turn your head to look, you see a huge, beautiful bird sitting on the branch of a tree- the hyacinth macaw.

What is a Hyacinth Macaw?

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The beautiful Hyacinth macaw
     The hyacinth macaw is part of the class Aves, the order Psittaciformes, and the family Psittacidae. Its scientific name is Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, or A. hyacinthinus for short. This blue and yellow parrot grows up to 40 inches long, weighs 2.5-4 pounds, and has a wingspan of up to 60 inches- that's one big bird! In fact, hyacinth macaws are the largest macaw and flying parrot species. These ocean-blue parrots also get credit for having the most powerful beak of all birds- it exerts about 500 pounds of force per square inch! Regarding size, females are typically smaller than males, but all hyacinth macaws definitely make a big impression!