Macaw Care Guide

Reviewed by Hamza, Avian Care Lead at Dubai Birds since 2018

Last updated October 2026

Housing, diet, enrichment, and UAE-specific care for the world's largest parrots.

Macaws are the largest parrots in the world. They are also the loudest, the most intelligent, and the longest-lived. A Hyacinth Macaw bought at Dubai Birds in 2026 will most likely outlive the buyer. This guide covers all macaw species we sell, Hyacinth, Scarlet, Blue & Gold, Green-Wing, Military, Severe, Catalina, Harlequin, and Hahn's, with UAE-specific advice for Dubai climate and apartment realities.

Native habitat and origin

Macaws are native to the tropical forests of Central and South America. The genus splits broadly into:

Large macaws (Ara genus): Hyacinth, Scarlet, Blue & Gold, Green-Wing, Military.

Mini-macaws (Diopsittaca and others): Hahn's, Severe, Yellow-Collared.

Hybrids: Catalina (Scarlet x Blue & Gold), Harlequin (Blue & Gold x Green-Wing).

Wild ranges include the Amazon basin, Pantanal wetlands, Mexican lowlands, and Andean foothills. Many species are CITES Appendix I (Hyacinth, Lear's, Scarlet) or Appendix II, check CITES species data and BirdLife International before importing.

Lifespan, size, weight

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We will not render that table because the on-page renderer does not support tables. The numbers in plain bullets:

Hyacinth Macaw: 100 cm long, 1.5-1.7 kg, 60-80 year lifespan, 120 cm wingspan.

Blue & Gold Macaw: 80-90 cm long, 900-1,300 g, 50-70 year lifespan.

Scarlet Macaw: 80-90 cm long, 1,000-1,200 g, 50-70 year lifespan.

Green-Wing Macaw: 90-95 cm long, 1,200-1,700 g, 50-70 year lifespan.

Military Macaw: 70-80 cm, 900-1,100 g, 50-60 year lifespan.

Severe Macaw (mini): 45 cm, 350-450 g, 30-50 year lifespan.

Hahn's Macaw (mini): 30 cm, 130-170 g, 25-35 year lifespan.

Sexual maturity is 4-7 years for large macaws and 2-4 years for mini-macaws. Hyacinth Macaws may not breed until 8-10 years old.

Intelligence, talkability, vocalisation

Macaws score lower on talking than African Greys but higher on emotional bonding. Most learn 20-80 words and short phrases. The Blue & Gold is the strongest talker among large macaws.

Macaw screams are physiological, they evolved as flock-distance contact calls across kilometres of rainforest canopy. A pair-bonded macaw greets the morning, sunset, and any returning family member with a 15-60 second screaming bout. Sound levels:

Hyacinth Macaw: 100-105 dB at 1 metre.

Blue & Gold / Scarlet / Green-Wing: 95-105 dB.

Military Macaw: 90-100 dB.

Severe Macaw: 85-95 dB.

Hahn's Macaw: 80-90 dB, the only macaw genuinely viable for apartment living.

In JLT, Marina, or Downtown apartments, only Hahn's and Severe macaws are realistic. Larger macaws need a villa in Al Barsha, Mirdif, or anywhere in Sharjah/Ajman where standalone homes are common.

Diet, UAE-specific

Macaws have higher fat tolerance than other parrots because wild birds eat large quantities of palm nuts. Hyacinth Macaws in particular cannot survive without high palm-nut content.

Daily plate (large macaw, ~1 kg)

160% high-quality large-parrot pellets, Harrison's High-Potency Coarse, Tops Macaw, Roudybush Maintenance Large.

225% vegetables, sweet potato, kale, carrot, capsicum, broccoli, courgette, green beans.

310% sprouted seeds and legumes, mung beans, lentils, chickpeas. Sprouting raises Vitamin C and lowers fat.

45-10% raw nuts in shell, Brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds, macadamia, pecans, pistachios. In-shell nuts are foraging enrichment as well as nutrition.

Hyacinth-specific addition

Hyacinths need 25-30% palm nuts (acuri or bocaiuva in the wild). UAE substitutes:

Macaw Mix from TOPs or Higgins, sold at Pet's Delight Mall of the Emirates and online via DubaiPetFood.

Raw unsweetened coconut, fresh dates, and Brazil nuts, partial palm-nut substitutes available at Carrefour year-round.

Palm fruit (when in season at Spinneys), limited window.

Without palm-nut equivalents, Hyacinths develop fatty liver disease within 2-3 years.

UAE supermarket year-round produce

Carrefour, Spinneys, Waitrose and Union Coop reliably stock: kale, spinach, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, capsicum, mango, papaya, pomegranate, apple, banana.

Summer (May-September) avoid leaving fresh produce out beyond 90 minutes, 40 °C ambient temperatures ferment fruit even with AC running.

Calcium and Vitamin A

Cuttlebone clipped inside the cage.

30 minutes pre-9-a.m. or post-5-p.m. unfiltered sunlight, or a 12% Arcadia avian UVB tube.

Daily orange/red vegetables for Vitamin A (sweet potato, carrot, capsicum).

Foods to avoid

Avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, onion, garlic, raw mushroom, raw potato, salt, sugar, fried food, dairy.

Apple seeds, cherry pits, peach pits, apricot pits.

Any food cooked in PTFE non-stick cookware, fumes kill parrots within minutes.

Housing in UAE climate

Cage requirements

Hyacinth / Green-Wing: minimum 150 cm wide x 110 cm deep x 200 cm tall, 4 cm bar spacing, 6 mm bar gauge, stainless steel.

Scarlet / Blue & Gold / Military: minimum 120 cm wide x 90 cm deep x 180 cm tall, 3-4 cm bar spacing.

Severe: 100 cm wide x 75 cm deep x 150 cm tall, 2.5 cm bar spacing.

Hahn's: 80 cm wide x 60 cm deep x 100 cm tall, 2 cm bar spacing.

Macaws bend chrome and zinc-coated cages. Insist on stainless steel, King's Cages, Animal Environments, and Vision are the brands serviced by UAE bird specialists.

Climate setup

1Indoor temperature: 22-28 °C. Macaws tolerate slightly warmer than greys but stress above 32 °C.

2AC airflow: never directly on the cage. Set the cage in the same room as a split AC but not in the airflow path.

3Humidity: 50-65%. Macaws come from 80-95% humidity rainforest. Use a cool-mist humidifier, Dubai indoor air with full AC drops to 25-35%.

4Bath access: large bowl, shallow tray, or hand-mister daily. Macaws love to bathe.

5Light: 10-12 hours light, 10-12 hours full darkness.

6Balcony placement: shaded balcony only, never in direct UAE summer sun. Cage temperature climbs to 50 °C in 20 minutes through balcony glass. Always have a battery-powered fan in case of summer power outage.

7Air quality: zero PTFE cookware in the home, no scented candles, no plug-in fragrances, no aerosols, no shisha or tobacco smoke.

Daily routine and enrichment

Macaws need 4-6 hours out of the cage and 2-3 hours of dedicated human attention.

Foraging toys filled with in-shell nuts (chewable, replaceable weekly).

Untreated softwood blocks, pine, balsa, yucca. They will destroy them in days.

Knotted leather strips, palm-leaf strips, large rope perches.

Stainless-steel foot toys, bells, chains, large keyrings.

Daily training session of 10-15 minutes for recall, target training, station training.

Pair-bonded macaws kept singly will bond with one human as their mate. This causes hormonal aggression at 4-7 years. Either get two macaws (always more mess and noise) or commit to neutral-handler training so the bird does not see you as a romantic partner. See Lafeber Vet's behaviour library for the science.

Hyacinth Macaw, the largest macaw species

Common health issues

1Fatty liver disease, high-seed diet, no palm-equivalent fats. Most common in Hyacinths fed standard parrot mix.

2Aspergillosis, fungal lung infection. Damp seed bowls in summer humidity are the cause.

3**Psittacosis**, bacterial, zoonotic. Quarantine new birds 30 days.

4Macaw Wasting Syndrome (PDD/Avian Bornavirus), viral, often fatal. Always buy from a breeder who PCR-tests their flock.

5Feather damaging behaviour, boredom, low humidity, hormonal stress.

6Beak overgrowth, corrected by hardwood and natural-rock perches; never by clipping at home.

7Foot lesions, caused by smooth dowel perches. Use natural wood and rope perches at varied diameters.

Refer to VCA Animal Hospitals' avian medicine library and Lafeber Vet for clinical descriptions.

Where to buy in UAE

Mandatory paperwork

1CITES permit, Appendix I (Hyacinth, Scarlet, Lear's, Spix's) or Appendix II (Blue & Gold, Green-Wing, Military, most others). Buyer's copy lists the bird's individual ID. No paperwork, no purchase.

2Closed leg-band, fitted at 14-21 days. Lists breeder code, country, year, and serial.

3**Avian vet certificate**, recent (under 30 days) PBFD/polyoma/PDD PCR results.

4**Hand-raised confirmation**, fully weaned at 14-18 weeks for large macaws.

Dubizzle and Instagram resellers regularly list macaws without paperwork. These birds are either trafficked, undocumented, or stolen. The UAE's Federal Law No. (5) of 2025, in force since 1 January 2026, enforces CITES; trading without permits can bring fines of up to AED 2 million and possible imprisonment. See MOCCAE for current legal framework.

Hand-raised vs imported

UAE-bred macaws acclimatise fastest. Imports from Belgium, Czech Republic and South Africa need 8-12 weeks of quarantine and acclimatisation. At Dubai Birds we prioritise UAE-bred birds where available; ask in-store.

AED price ranges in 2026

Live prices today at Dubai Birds:

Hyacinth Macaw: AED 130,000.

Blue & Gold / Scarlet / Green-Wing Macaw: AED 8,500 to 25,000.

Military / Severe / Catalina / Harlequin Macaw: AED 8,000 to 38,000.

Hahn's Macaw: AED 8,000.

Live availability and stock photos are on the Macaws collection page.

Scarlet Macaw with characteristic red plumage

What this means for you as an owner

Crows and parrots have brains roughly primate-sized once body size is taken into account. Brain tissue costs a lot of energy to run, so a big brain is kept only when it pays off. Play is rare across bird species but common in parrots, which is one reason a macaw with nothing to do can turn destructive. Macaws themselves have not been well tested, and researchers still debate how to interpret many findings. Our guide to parrot enrichment and foraging explains why a bored parrot becomes a problem bird.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by Hamza, Avian Care Lead at Dubai Birds since 2018.

Frequently asked questions

See the FAQ block below.

Related Resources

Macaws for sale in Dubai Beginner's guide to bird ownership How to train a parrot Bird diet and nutrition guide Are macaws legal in the UAE?UAE exotic bird ownership laws First 30 days with a new parrot What is a CITES permit?Visit our Warsan 3 aviary Parrot enrichment and foraging

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a macaw live in a Dubai apartment?

Hahn's and Severe macaws can live in apartments with neighbour-friendly noise management. Large macaws, Hyacinth, Scarlet, Blue & Gold, Green-Wing, Military, are not realistic in apartments because their morning and sunset screams reach 100-105 dB and carry through walls. Villas in Mirdif, Al Barsha, or any standalone home in Sharjah or Ajman are appropriate.

How much does a macaw cost in Dubai in 2026?

Hahn's macaws, live price today: AED 8,000. Blue & Gold, Scarlet, and Green-Wing macaws: AED 8,500 to 25,000. Military, Severe, Catalina and Harlequin macaws: AED 8,000 to 38,000. Hyacinth macaws: AED 130,000. All prices are for hand-raised UAE-bred or fully papered import birds.

Are macaws legal to own in the UAE?

Yes, with valid CITES paperwork. Hyacinth, Scarlet, Lear's, and Spix's macaws are CITES Appendix I and require import permits. Blue & Gold, Green-Wing, Military, Hahn's, Severe and most hybrids are Appendix II and require CITES export/import certificates. Buying without paperwork is a federal offence under UAE Federal Law No. (5) of 2025.

What is the lifespan of a macaw?

Large macaws (Hyacinth, Scarlet, Blue & Gold, Green-Wing, Military) live 50-80 years. Mini-macaws (Hahn's, Severe) live 25-50 years. Most macaw owners need to plan inheritance, a Hyacinth bought at 30 may outlive the owner. Dubai Birds offers lifetime advice and rehoming support to all our buyers.

Do macaws need a friend or are they fine alone?

Macaws are flock animals and bond intensely. A single macaw will treat one human as a mate, which causes hormonal aggression at sexual maturity (4-7 years). The two clean solutions are (1) keep two macaws, accepting the doubled noise and mess, or (2) train all adults in the household to handle the bird daily so it accepts the family as a flock rather than fixating on one person.

What can I feed a macaw daily in Dubai?

60% large-parrot pellets (Harrison's, Tops, Roudybush), 25% fresh vegetables (sweet potato, kale, carrot, capsicum, broccoli), 10% sprouted legumes, and 5-10% in-shell nuts. Hyacinth macaws additionally need 25-30% palm-fat equivalents, Brazil nuts, fresh coconut, dates, or specialist macaw mixes. Avoid avocado, chocolate, caffeine, onion, garlic, salt, and any food prepared in PTFE non-stick cookware.

How loud is a macaw?

Large macaws produce 100-105 dB screams at 1 metre, louder than a chainsaw. Hahn's and Severe macaws are 80-95 dB. The screaming is concentrated in two 15-60 second bouts at sunrise and sunset. They cannot be trained to stop entirely but can be trained to reduce frequency. Apartment-suitable macaws are realistically Hahn's only.

Is a macaw's big brain the reason it needs so much to do?

It is a reasonable guess, not a proven rule. Parrots have brains roughly primate-sized for their body size, and play is common in parrots, so a macaw with nothing to occupy it tends to find its own entertainment. Researchers still debate how to interpret many findings, and macaws specifically have not been well tested. Daily foraging and chewing options are cheap insurance.