BlueMacaws one of the most thrilling members of the parrot family worldwide for me is the Hyacinthine Macaw. If I was already much impress by the behaviour and appearance of other macaws, then this blue macaw exceeds its relatives in many respects. It is in my opinion one of the most intelligent parrots, if not the most intelligent and I should like to pass on my observations and experiences of the Hyacinthine Macaw below.

Breeding the Hyacinthine Macaw

In autumn 1987 I acquire a male Hyacinthine Macaw from a breed which had been kep together with another male. It seem healthy, but the plumage was not in very good condition. Some of the feathers were not the normal luminous blue, but were black. Occasionally black feathers are cite as a determinant for the age of the bird, in other words black means it’s a young macaw, but this cannot be correct. It is surely a sign there is something wrong with the structure of the feathers. The normal colouring is not recognisable and the feathers appear to be black. I have often noticed a similar condition with Amazons after quarantine. The cramped conditions affects the plumage so badly that it is damaged and some feathers appear to be black.. After the first moult, however, these feathers regain their usual colouration. And so it was with my Hyacinthine Macaw.
Accommodation

BlueMacaws in Spring 1988 the Hyacinthine Macaws were put in a larger enclosure with an inside area of 2 x 3 metres (6 x 9 ft) and an outside area of 3 x 6 metres (9 x 18 ft). In the inside area there were two nestboxes measuring 80 x 50 x 50 cm (30 x 20 x 20 ins) made of 4 cm (1.5 ins) thick beechwood planks. Whilst one was position horizontally just under the roof, the other was place again horizontally, but 1.20 m (4 feet) from the ground. The horizontal position is I believe advantageous because the nesting material is usually in the back part. If the macaws is disturb when breeding, they come to the entrance hole and do not trample the eggs. Equally the eggs are not so easily damaged by the adults rushing into the nestbox.
Diet

Before describing their diet I should like to mention that in my opinion it is one of the decisive factors for successful breeding. It should be as varied as possible. Seed is mainly provide sprout during the breeding period. If young being rear then I offer it unsprouted as well. I also provide fruit (apple, pear, cherries, plums, banana, orange etc.), berries (rosehip, red and black elder, rowan) and vegetables (cucumber, onion, carrot, courgette, sweet pepper, etc.) either fresh or defrosted. Half-ripe, deep frozen maize is much enjoyed by macaws. I therefore feed half a cob each to my macaws once or twice a week. It is all mixed in a large feeding bowl and sprinkled with a soft food mix, calcium and mineral supplements. Then they receive some dog biscuit as well as nuts (brazil, walnuts, hazel and pine-nuts) and occasionally dried shrimp.
The first breeding season

In 1988 hardly anything occurred in the first half of the year. The pair harmonised beautifully, but paid virtually no attention to the nestboxes. The initially very shy female slowly became more confiding.

BlueMacaws in the second half of the year the pair appeared to come into breeding condition. Occasionally the female was fed by the male. In September the Hyacinhtine macaws were copulating regularly, but still showed no great interest in the nestboxes. I therefore placed a hollow out fir tree stump 1.2 m high with approx. 40 cm diameter (4 ft with 15 ins diameter) in the outside area, but this was ignore as well. From October the copulating cease and was not observe any more throughout the entire winter.
The second year

BlueMacaws at the beginning of April I reinstalled the two nestboxes in the inside area and extended the light period as well as altered the diet. Soon the pair were feeding each other and began copulating again. During copulation the macaws made constant noise so that I knew when they is copulating without seeing them. The pair is in the inside where they is often to be found. If they were interrupt they stop immediately and became threatening.

BlueMacaws as neither macaw show any increase interest in either of the nestboxes, I began to suspect they might be two males. The male had also fed his male companion when with the previous owner. Therefore I had the alleged female endoscoped as the male had already been sexed immediately after acquisition. This however confirmed she was a mature female. The visible gender characteristics described by Winkle in 1987, namely that females have a bare strip on their abdomen, also applied to my pair. It still needs to be prove with all Hyacinthine Macaws. One of my Blue and Yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna) also had a bare strip to the abdomen even though it was a confirmed male.