What Are Macaws Like?
Macaws are very intelligent, and they are also unusual in other ways. They have unique feet, with two toes facing forward and two facing backward. This arrangement is useful when climbing trees and helps them hold and manipulate food, too. Like humans, macaws tend to be right or left “handed,” favoring one foot over the other when picking up food or some other object. Can Macaws Really Talk? Yes! Walking through the forested area on the west side of the Zoo, visitors will often hear the macaws talking. Our macaws, Shiloh and Mrs. Roberts, are all excellent talkers and will pick up on words that are often repeated to them. Macaws (and other parrots) love attention and conversation. In the wintertime, the birds must come indoors to warmer quarters, and to keep them from getting too bored, the keepers will sometimes turn on the television and let them watch (and listen)! What Do Macaws Eat? Macaws eat a variety of seeds, nuts, fruit, bulbs, berries, worms, insects, and even some vegetable
