Macaws consume a variety of food items, including fruits, seeds, nuts leaves, palm fruit, and flowers as well as stems. Some of the safest vegetables include beets and asparagus, as well as broccoli, bell peppers butternut carrots, corn, corn on the cob collard greens, dandelion vegetables, hot peppers sweet potatoes, spinach, zucchini, and tomatoes. Wild animals can forage in wide areas and cover more than 100 km (62 miles) for some of the largest species like Ara Araurana (blue as well as yellow macaw) as well as Ara unclear (great Macaw in green) seeking seasonal food sources.
The food items that macaws
consume in particular areas in the wild are believed to include harmful and acidic substances that they can digest. It is believed that macaws and parrots living within areas of the Amazon Basin eat clay from exposed river banks in order to neutralize the effects of these toxins. Purple Birds
[12 In the western region of the Amazon thousands of macaws as well as other parrots converge on the river’s banks to eat clay on a regular schedule, except for rainy days.[14[14] Donald Brightsmith, the principal investigator for The Macaw Society,
located at the Tambopata Research Center
(TRC) in Peru and has examined the eating habits of clay parrots who eat clay licks in Peru. The team of researchers discovered that the clays that macaws prefer to eat in clay licks don’t contain greater levels of Cation exchange capacity (ability to absorb toxic substances) as
compared to the untapped areas of the licks made from clay which means that the parrots may not be making use of this clay for neutralization of foods toxins. The macaws, as well as other species of birds and animals, prefer clays that have greater levels of sodium.[16It is a crucial element that is in short supply in areas of more than 100 km away from the ocean.
The range of clay licks throughout South America further supports this theory – since the largest and most diverse clay licks can be found on the western end of the Amazon Basin far from oceanic influences.[18 Salt-enriched (NaCl) aerosols of the ocean are the major source of sodium from the environment close to the coasts. This decreases dramatically further inland.[19[19
Macaws’ habit of eating
clay is not evident outside in the west of the Amazon region, despite the fact that macaws from these regions consume toxic food items like seeds found in Hura crepitans and the sandbox tree that have toxic sap. The species of parrots that consume more seeds which could be contaminated with more toxins, don’t use clay licks in the same way as species that consume a larger amount of fruit or flowers within their food sources.
Research conducted at TRC has found a connection between the use of clay-licks and the period of breeding. The nesting crop samples reveal an abundance of clay that is fed to their parents. Calcium to help develop eggs is a different hypothesis. It is not the reason behind geophagy during this time since the most frequent use is following the hatching of eggs.
Relationship with humans Relationship with humans[ edit
Their feathers and Macaws in particular have caught the attention of people across the ages, with the most noticeable attention being paid by early pre-Columbian civilizations like Nazca, Wari’s Inca, Wari’, and Nazca. The feathers of the Macaw were sought-after due to their vivid colors.
They were gathered through trade and hunting. Are Bats Birds Feathers were frequently utilized as ornaments and were often found in burial and ceremonial sites. South American weavers have used feathers to make many different textiles, including pieces of feathered fabric as well as tabards.
