Blue-and-Gold Macaw
The 70-year commitment — spectacular, loud, and endlessly intelligent
Origin
Central & South America (Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama)
Lifespan
60–80+ years
With proper nutrition & care
Size
32–34 inches (81–86 cm)
900–1,100 g (31.7–38.8 oz)
Quick Facts
| Origin | Central & South America (Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama) |
|---|---|
| Size | 32–34 inches (81–86 cm) |
| Weight | 900–1,100 g (31.7–38.8 oz) |
| Lifespan | 60–80+ years |
| Care level | Advanced |
| Noise level | Very Loud. Full contact calls reach ~105 dB. Not suitable for apartments, condos, or most townhouses. |
| Talking ability | Excellent — clear vocabulary up to 100+ words; expressive, slightly gravelly voice with strong phrase associations. |
| Beginner-friendly | 2/10 |
The Bird
Blue-and-Gold Macaw at a Glance
The Blue-and-Gold Macaw (Ara ararauna) is one of the longest-lived companion parrots on the planet. A healthy bird raised on proper nutrition and genuine social engagement will live 60 to 80 years, and a handful of well-documented birds have pushed past 90. That single fact reframes everything else about the species — this is not a pet, it's a multi-generational commitment.
Standing 32 to 34 inches from beak to tail tip and weighing 900 to 1,100 grams, the Blue-and-Gold is the macaw most people picture when they hear the word. Native to the swampy forests and savannas of Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama, they evolved as flock birds that fly miles a day and forage on hard-shelled nuts, palm fruits, and clay. A cage in a Florida living room is a radical departure from that life, and the bird notices.
At Parrot Bliss, Kalyn sees the same pattern in nearly every surrender call: the macaw was bought as a baby, bonded hard to one family member, and then hit sexual maturity at three or four years old and became "a different bird." It wasn't a different bird. It was the adult macaw the chick was always going to become.
Most people get Blue-and-Golds wrong because the baby phase is misleading. A weaned macaw chick is a velcro bird — cuddly, gentle, eager to be held by anyone. Buyers fall in love with that bird and assume they're getting it for the next 60 years. They aren't. They're getting a 6-month deposit on a wild-natured adult that will demand a renegotiated relationship every few years.
Sexual maturity hits between two and four years, and with it comes the biting phase, hormonal lunging, and the famous one-person bond. A macaw that previously stepped up for the whole family suddenly chooses one human and treats the others as romantic rivals or threats. Kalyn sees this most often around year three, and the families that survive it are the ones who keep everyone in the household handling the bird in short, daily sessions from weaning onward.
Then there's flock calling — the dawn and dusk contact screams that announce the bird's location to its imaginary jungle flock. This is hardwired, not a behaviour problem. You don't train it out. You manage it by responding briefly (one whistle back), keeping the bird visually engaged with the household, and never rewarding escalation. At Parrot Bliss, the macaws that scream least are the ones whose owners learned the difference between contact calling and boredom screaming.
Vocalization & Talking
The Blue-and-Gold is a genuinely excellent talker — a clear, expressive, slightly gravelly voice with a vocabulary that can run to a hundred words and phrases in a well-engaged bird. They mimic doorbells, microwaves, the dog, laughter, sneezes, and the specific cadence of whichever family member talks to them most. Kalyn has a hand-fed Blue-and-Gold at Parrot Bliss who answers the phone with a perfect "hello?" and then laughs when no one responds.
That's the charming half. The other half is volume. A Blue-and-Gold Macaw at full call registers around 105 decibels at one metre — louder than a chainsaw, audible from a quarter mile away in open air. They do this twice a day minimum, every day, for the rest of their lives. In an apartment, in a townhouse, in a duplex, or in any neighbourhood with a noise ordinance, this is a problem you cannot soundproof your way out of.
Before bringing one home, sit in a room with an adult Blue-and-Gold during a screaming bout. Not a video — a real bird, in person. If you flinch, the species isn't for you. Kalyn turns away more buyers over noise reality than any other single factor, and the ones who push through anyway are the ones whose birds end up surrendered within five years.
Diet
The single fastest way to kill a Blue-and-Gold Macaw young is unlimited nuts. Macaws are evolved to crack hard-shelled palm nuts, and they will happily eat macadamias, walnuts, and almonds until they develop hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) and die at 15 instead of 75. Treat nuts as training treats only — two to four whole nuts per day, in shell, used as rewards.
The base of the diet should be a high-quality formulated pellet — Kalyn recommends Harrison's High Potency Coarse or Roudybush Maintenance for adult birds — making up roughly 60 to 70 percent of daily intake. The remaining 30 to 40 percent is fresh produce: leafy greens (kale, dandelion, chard), squash, sweet potato, bell pepper, broccoli, sprouted legumes, and limited fruit. Avoid avocado, chocolate, onion, and anything from the nightshade family raw.
Calcium matters more for macaws than most owners realise. Cuttlebone, mineral block, and weekly servings of cooked egg with shell keep blood calcium stable, which keeps the nervous system and reproductive tract working properly. At Parrot Bliss, every weaned macaw leaves on a written diet plan, and Kalyn follows up at six months because the birds that go off the rails nutritionally almost always do it in the first year of the new home.
Health & Lifespan
The disease most Blue-and-Gold owners have never heard of is the one most likely to kill the bird. Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD), caused by avian bornavirus, attacks the nerves of the digestive tract. Affected birds pass undigested food, lose weight despite eating, and eventually starve. There is no cure. Buy only from breeders who test, like Parrot Bliss, and quarantine any new bird for a minimum of 45 days before introducing it to existing flock.
The other condition every macaw owner will face the question of is feather-destructive behaviour (FDB). True feather plucking has medical causes — find a board-certified avian vet and rule out giardia, heavy metal toxicity, zinc, PBFD, and skin infection before assuming it's behavioural. Most macaw plucking is a mix: a medical trigger that becomes a habit reinforced by boredom and inadequate sleep.
Common conditions to watch for in Blue-and-Golds:
- PDD / avian bornavirus — fatal, no cure, screen before purchase
- Psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci) — zoonotic, treatable with doxycycline
- Aspergillosis — fungal lung infection, often from damp seed or poor ventilation
- Hepatic lipidosis — fatty liver from nut-heavy diet
- Hypocalcaemia — seizures and weakness from chronic low calcium
- Feather-destructive behaviour — medical workup first, environment second
Annual wellness exams with bloodwork are not optional for a 70-year bird.
Housing
Cage minimums for Blue-and-Golds are published as 36"W × 48"D × 60"H, and Kalyn will tell you straight: that's the floor, not the goal. A bird with a 40-inch wingspan cannot open both wings simultaneously in a 36-inch-wide cage. The minimum keeps the bird alive. It does not keep the bird well. Most serious macaw homes end up with either a custom 6-foot-wide cage or a converted spare bedroom aviary within the first three years.
Bar specifications matter as much as overall dimensions. Look for 1-inch bar spacing minimum, horizontal bars on at least two sides for climbing, and a heavy gauge — 6mm wire or thicker. A Blue-and-Gold can crush a chicken-wire aviary, snap cheap welds, and pop poorly-secured doors. Stainless steel or powder-coated welded steel from a parrot-specific manufacturer is the only category worth buying. Expect to spend $2,000 to $5,000 on the cage alone.
Then there's the chewing budget. Macaws destroy wood by design — it's how they keep their beaks healthy and their brains occupied. Plan on $40 to $80 a month in untreated pine, balsa, palm, and yucca toys, plus rope perches, foraging puzzles, and shreddable cardboard. At Parrot Bliss, Kalyn rotates four sets of toys weekly so the birds never see the same enrichment two weeks running. A bored macaw becomes a screaming, plucking, biting macaw within months.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long do Blue-and-Gold Macaws live?
A well-cared-for Blue-and-Gold Macaw lives 60 to 80 years, and verified birds have reached 90+. That lifespan is the single most important fact about the species — most owners need a written succession plan naming who inherits the bird. At Parrot Bliss, Kalyn will not place a macaw without one. Diet, vet care, and mental enrichment determine whether your bird lives 30 years or 75.
- Are Blue-and-Gold Macaws good for beginners?
No. Blue-and-Golds are an advanced-level species and Kalyn will not sell one to a first-time parrot owner. They require experience reading body language, managing a screaming flock-caller, and handling the biting phase at sexual maturity. Start with a cockatiel, conure, or quaker, live with that bird through a full sexual-maturity cycle, and then revisit the macaw question with realistic expectations.
- How loud is a Blue-and-Gold Macaw?
A Blue-and-Gold at full call hits roughly 105 decibels at one metre — louder than a chainsaw and audible up to a quarter mile away outdoors. They scream at dawn and dusk every day as instinctive flock contact calls. This is not trainable away. Apartments, condos, townhouses, and most suburban neighbourhoods are unworkable. Detached single-family homes with tolerant neighbours are the realistic minimum.
- What do Blue-and-Gold Macaws eat?
A balanced diet is roughly 60 to 70 percent high-quality pellet (Harrison's or Roudybush) and 30 to 40 percent fresh vegetables, leafy greens, sprouted legumes, and limited fruit. Nuts are training treats only — two to four per day — because unlimited nuts cause fatty liver disease. Avoid avocado, chocolate, onion, and caffeine. Calcium from cuttlebone and weekly cooked egg-with-shell keeps the nervous system stable.
- Can a Blue-and-Gold Macaw live alone?
A single Blue-and-Gold can live alone if a human family becomes its flock — meaning four to six hours of direct interaction daily, not background presence. Birds left in cages while everyone works full-time develop screaming, plucking, and aggression within a year. If the household is gone all day, Kalyn recommends either a bonded pair or a different species. Macaws are flock animals first, pets second.