Dino-Squakers! Amazon VS Macaw

This is an interesting video – 2 out of the 3 largest squawkers!

How do I compare?

My Mac’Girls

(Catalina Macaw and Harlequin Macaw)
They can be hear at the end of the block. Sometimes my neighbors ask if that’s one of my parrots they hear… I smile, take comfort in the fact that we bring them back inside if they are being too loud or obnoxious, and say, “Yes,” in a sweet voice. Fortunately, my neighbors usually then say, “We hear them and call back,” or “My grandson loves to hear them!” And I’m relieved!

The Macaws are loud, for sure, but they tend to call and then be done. Sometimes they go on for several minutes, as I watch with a bated breath, and then stop. Otherwise, in they come.

They can also be loud indoors, of course. They spend most of their day out back, but they like to come in mid-day to rest in their cage and eat. They are obviously more comfortable resting in their ‘bedroom’ than outside. Indoors they can get loud, especially after they have rested and they are ready for round two. They start to play-fight, which has never been a problem or caused an injury, but it does get loud with screams.

It too doesn’t last too, too long…

 

Then There’s my Zons, or Amazons 

At about 1/3 the size, my Amazon parrots are worse. Believe it or not!

There are two reasons for this, their call and consistency. My youngest Amazon, (Amazona viridigenalis) called a Red-crowned parrot, Green-cheeked Amazon or Mexican Red-headed parrot, is the worst. On a regular basis, he screams, usually twice a day. 

The Amazon scream is cacophonous, though not as bad as the Cockatoo family can sound in my opinion. When Ursulus starts, it’s hard to get him to stop. Same goes for his buddy, Tiko.

The upside to the Amazons is that they talk, and are known to be better talkers than the Macaws. They can also sing too, and Tiko will whistle/sing sometimes. They talk and sing most when they are spoken to or sung to, and I’m not a singer!

The Amazons also tend to practice their repertoire of words, so the more they learn to say or sing, the less likely they MAY be to not scream. 

While our Macaws are also picking up words, and one of our Mac’Girls uses “Bye-bye” in context, they aren’t known for being able to learn to talk as much or as well as an Amazon.

Which Would I Choose?

If you are trying to decide between an Amazon and a Macaw parrot, consider two things:

1 – Space
Macaws are BIG birds. They need a lot of space to fly around in and plenty of wood to chew. No wood equals stress. Yes, Macaws actually need wood to chew on for their well-being. When they don’t have the flying space or the wood to chew, they resort to your furniture, be it plastic or wood! Those huge beaks can be very destructive, so it’s something to consider.

While Amazons also need space to fly and wood to chew, their needs are not as vast. They can fly around a home easily and ours don’t EAT the house. However, you would do best to not have neighbors close by so that you can put your Amazons (or Macaws) outside. They require UV and UB light (not provided by our lightbulbs, unless you get specialty ones, and these rays don’t come through most windows) and fresh air is pure health for parrots, but it would also give you some quiet time, when needed.

Mind you, neither screams all day.  A parrot that does so is ill or deeply stressed out and something needs to take place quickly to address his or her issue.

2- Amazons Only Like You

Amazons are typically one-person birds. This means that they don’t like more than one person and can be mean, aggressive and will attack other household members. They choose their ‘pair’ and the rest of the world needs to stay away, according to them.

Both of these species is a lifestyle change, especially if you haven’t had a large parrot before. Taking care of them takes time and attention: preparing fresh vegetables, sweeping/cleaning the mess they make on the floor (several times per day) and keeping their cage clean. Then there is the time that should be spent with them. These are highly social animals that are built to be together all day. This is why we have 2 of each species. The ‘flock’ is human and parrot and it gives them more of the social structure that they are made for. Not perfect, but it clearly goes a much longer way than keeping one parrot alone.

While keeping one alone can be problem-free, when parrots are together they relate to each other in ways that we humans can’t. They feed, preen and approach each other, again, in ways that we aren’t built for (we’re too big and I’m unwilling to preen feathers with my teeth! LOL)

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