# Hyacinth Macaw — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus*

> A Hyacinth Macaw is the world's largest flying parrot — a roughly one-metre-long, cobalt-blue bird from central South America, especially Brazil's Pantanal, that uses its powerful beak to crack hard palm nuts; it is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

**IUCN status:** Vulnerable (IUCN) — locally reassessed as Endangered in Brazil after the 2020 Pantanal fires  ·  **WARN range:** Brazil

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lifespan | ~30–50 years in the wild; 50+ in captivity |
| Weight | 1.2–1.7 kg |
| Length | ~1 m (3 ft 3 in) — largest flying parrot |
| Diet | Palm-nut specialist (acuri, bocaiuva), seeds, fruit |
| Incubation | About one month (~28–30 days) |
| Eggs per clutch | 1–2 eggs |
| Fledging | Around 110 days |
| Baby name | Chick (nestling / fledgling) |
| Group name | Flock |
| CITES | Appendix I |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Psittaciformes
- **Family:** Psittacidae
- **Genus:** Anodorhynchus
- **Species:** Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus (Latham, 1790)

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Vulnerable
- **Population:** ~4,300 mature individuals (about 6,500 birds in total)
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2021
- **CITES:** Appendix I
- Globally Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; following the catastrophic 2020 Pantanal fires, Brazilian authorities have moved to reassess the species as Endangered at the national level.

## Key facts: Hyacinth Macaw
- At around one metre from head to tail, the Hyacinth Macaw is the longest parrot species and the largest macaw in the world.
- Its core stronghold is Brazil's Pantanal, the planet's largest tropical wetland, with smaller populations in the Cerrado and eastern Amazon fringe.
- It is a palm-nut specialist, relying heavily on acuri and bocaiuva palm nuts that few other animals can crack.
- In the Pantanal it nests almost exclusively in cavities of the manduvi tree, making it dependent on a single tree species for breeding.
- The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable with roughly 4,300 mature individuals and a declining trend (assessed 2021).
- Trapping for the cage-bird trade once devastated wild numbers; today habitat loss and wildfire are the leading pressures.

## Why it is threatened
The Hyacinth Macaw was pushed to a low of an estimated few thousand birds in the late 1980s, largely by intense trapping for the international cage-bird trade. CITES Appendix I protection and on-the-ground nest monitoring helped numbers recover, and in 2014 the species was downlisted from Endangered to Vulnerable. But the recovery remains fragile. The IUCN's 2021 assessment estimates around 4,300 mature individuals and a decreasing population trend. The catastrophic Pantanal fires of 2020, which burned roughly a quarter of the wetland, destroyed nesting trees and roosts and prompted Brazilian authorities to reassess the species as Endangered at the national level, even as its global status stays Vulnerable.

## Behaviour and ecology
This is a long-lived, slow-breeding bird: pairs raise only one or two eggs per clutch, incubation lasts roughly a month, and chicks do not fledge until around 110 days. Birds typically reach breeding age at about seven years and can live for several decades. The macaw's enormous beak is built for one job above all — cracking the rock-hard nuts of acuri and bocaiuva palms, a food source almost no competitor can exploit. In the Pantanal it depends heavily on the soft-cored manduvi tree (Sterculia apetala) for nest cavities, a tight ecological link that makes both breeding success and palm availability central to the species' survival.

## Range and habitat
Hyacinth Macaws survive in three broadly separated regions of central South America. By far the largest is the Pantanal of south-western Brazil, extending into eastern Bolivia and northern Paraguay, which holds most of the world's population. Smaller numbers occur in the dry Cerrado woodlands and gallery forests of eastern Brazil and along the southern fringe of the Amazon basin. The birds favour palm savannas, seasonally flooded grasslands and forest edges where their food palms and nesting trees grow — landscapes increasingly fragmented by cattle ranching, agriculture and fire.

## What rescue and recovery involve
Protecting Hyacinth Macaws is less about hands-on rehabilitation and more about safeguarding nests, trees and habitat. Effective work includes monitoring and protecting manduvi nest cavities, installing artificial nest boxes where natural ones are scarce, planting and protecting food and nesting palms, partnering with ranchers to reduce fire and habitat loss, and confiscating and rehabilitating birds taken illegally for the pet trade. Because the species breeds slowly, every successfully fledged chick matters, and long-term field monitoring is essential to track whether populations are holding or slipping.

## Hyacinth Macaw vs. its blue Anodorhynchus relatives
| Feature | Hyacinth Macaw | Lear's (Indigo) Macaw | Glaucous Macaw |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus | Anodorhynchus leari | Anodorhynchus glaucus |
| Size | ~1 m — largest flying parrot | ~75 cm | ~72 cm |
| Plumage | Deep cobalt blue | Darker indigo-blue | Pale greenish-blue |
| IUCN status | Vulnerable | Endangered | Critically Endangered (possibly extinct) |
| Stronghold | Brazil's Pantanal | Bahia, NE Brazil | Historic: S Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina |
| Yellow facial marks | Eye-ring and lower-beak patch | Larger yellow facial patch | Faint yellow markings |

## What WARN does
Brazil is one of the five countries where the World Animal Rescue Network (WARN) channels donations to local partner shelters, sanctuaries and field rescue teams, so the Hyacinth Macaw sits squarely within our funded focus. WARN CIC is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation: rather than running its own facilities, it raises funds for vetted Brazilian partners working on wildlife protection and trafficking response, and supports wider public education about the cage-bird trade that once devastated this species. Most of the macaw's range lies in the Pantanal, and we are honest that protecting it depends on the local experts and reserves our partners support on the ground.

A gift to WARN helps fund the Brazilian partners protecting the Pantanal's nesting trees and confronting the wildlife trade — the practical, local work that keeps the world's largest flying parrot in the sky.

## Frequently asked questions: Hyacinth Macaw
### How big is a Hyacinth Macaw?
It is the largest flying parrot in the world, reaching about one metre (3 ft 3 in) from the top of its head to the tip of its tail and weighing roughly 1.2 to 1.7 kg.

### How long do Hyacinth Macaws live?
They are long-lived birds. In the wild they commonly live around 30 to 50 years, and individuals in captivity have been recorded living over 50 years.

### What do Hyacinth Macaws eat?
They are palm-nut specialists. Their diet is dominated by the hard nuts of acuri and bocaiuva palms, which their powerful beaks can crack, along with other nuts, seeds and fruit.

### How many Hyacinth Macaws are left?
The IUCN's 2021 assessment estimates around 4,300 mature individuals (roughly 6,500 birds in total), with a declining population trend. Most live in Brazil's Pantanal.

### Why is the Hyacinth Macaw endangered or vulnerable?
Historic trapping for the pet trade caused steep declines; today the main threats are habitat loss from ranching and agriculture, plus severe wildfires such as the 2020 Pantanal fires that destroyed nesting trees. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable.

### Are Hyacinth Macaws dangerous?
They are not aggressive toward people by nature, but their beak is among the most powerful of any parrot — strong enough to crack hard palm nuts and even coconuts — so a bite can cause serious injury.

### What is a baby Hyacinth Macaw called?
A young macaw is called a chick (and a nestling or fledgling as it grows). A group of macaws is generally called a flock.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus (Vulnerable, 2021)](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685516/93077457)
- [BirdLife International DataZone — Hyacinth Macaw factsheet](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/hyacinth-macaw-anodorhynchus-hyacinthinus)
- [CITES — Appendices (Appendix I listing)](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)
- [Mongabay — Habitat loss and fire push the hyacinth macaw back toward endangered status](https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/habitat-loss-climate-change-send-hyacinth-macaw-reeling-back-into-endangered-status/)
- [Prioritizing Conservation Areas for the Hyacinth Macaw (Evolutionary Applications, 2024)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eva.70039)
- [Encyclopedia of Life — Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus](https://eol.org/pages/45510821)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/hyacinth-macaw