Hahn’s Macaw (Mini Macaw)

The smallest member of the macaw family, the Hahn’s macaw has become rather popular pet birds owing to the entertainment quotient they bring to the fore. Ideal for first-time bird owners, one may never wish to graduate to another bird because of the Hahn’s’ endearing ways. They are slightly larger than a cockatiel and marginally smaller than a conure.

Hahn’s Macaw

Scientific Classification
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Psittaciformes
Superfamily	Psittacoidea
Family	Psittacidae
Subfamily	Arinae
Tribe	Arini
Genus	Diopsittaca
Binomial Name	Diopsittaca nobilis
Scientific Name	Diopsittaca nobilis nobilis

Hahns Macaw

Hahns Macaw Pictures

Quick Information
Other Names	Mini Macaw, red-shouldered macaw, Hahn’s mini macaw, Han’s macaw
Size	Around 12 in (30.48 cm) from tips of beak and tail
Weight	5.8 oz (164.4 g)
Color	Slate-blue or dark feathers just above the beak on the head, orange eyes with white featherless skin surrounding it, green body with olive-green undersides, leading edges of the wings are red, black beak
Distribution	Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, the Guianas, and Venezuela
Habitat	Savannahs, swamplands, and tropical lowlands
Sounds & Talking	Sounds are not very pleasant to listen to, but they can learn to speak plenty of words and also to whistle Calls are shrill and grating
Clutch	2-5 eggs
Incubation Period	About 24 days
Breeding Season	February/March to June/July
Fledging	At around 54 days old
Lifespan	More than 30 years under the right care
Diet	Foods in the wild include seeds, nuts, fruits, insects, small reptiles
IUCN Conservation Status	Least Concern

As pets

The entertaining and comical characteristics of the Hahn’s macaw parrot, complimented by its small size which entails easy maintenance have made this bird quite a popular pet. They are quite loud, though, so they might not be the best choice for adoption if you’re living in an apartment with neighbor’s next door.

Hahns Macaw Size

Hahns Macaw Cage

Housing

A sizeable cage with dimensions of at least 2.5’x3’ should be provided for the bird to live in. They do however like to outside of the cage for at least 2-3 hours a day, interacting with the owner. If your budget permits, then it might be a good idea to go for a playpen, play gym or a sturdy parrot perch.

They like to chew, so an adequate number of wooden chewable toys and branches must be provided to keep boredom at bay and enhance enrichment.

Temperature

As long as the temperature does not get below 37.4°F (3°C) the bird should be fine, if the temperature does plummet below that, arrange for a heater.

Hahns Macaw Birds

Hahns Macaw Baby

Temperament & Behavior

The Hahn’s macaw has on it one of the best temperaments that you can hope or, even by macaw standards. It is very social and ideal as a pet for a family. Their intelligence for and inquisitiveness to learn is something to behold. They like to be handled by their owners, but may sometimes develop bonds with one member of the family and get irritated to the point of being nippy at the sight of another, but this is rare. To avoid this, make sure your bird is well-socialized with plenty of people.

Your mood, at most times, will be mirrored by your bird. Your happiness will make the bird’s mood happier, and vice versa.

Your bird will learn to speak and do tricks rather well as long as it is trained as such from a relatively young age.

Feeding

A diet of high-quality seed and pellet mix should be given to your bird on a regular basis. Fresh fruits and vegetables must be given daily.

Hahns Macaw in the Wild

Hahns Macaw Images

Care

Your Hahn’s macaw must regularly be bathed to keep the brightness of the plumage at an optimal and maintain feather health. You may use a bird mist or a shower sprayer for this purpose and the water should be lukewarm. Wings should be cut just enough so that that bird can glide onto the floor. Beaks also need to be trimmed if they become deformed or overgrown.

Various types of perches may be available at pet stores which will help in keeping the nails trimmed.

Health problems

Some of the common health problems that plague the Hahn’s macaw are:

Psittacosis
Feather plucking
Bacterial, fungal and viral infections
Macaw wasting disease
Babies tend to chew tail and flight feathers
Gout
Heavy metal poisoning

Price

Hahn’s macaws can be bought for $800-$1,200.

Hahns Macaw Bird

Hahn Macaw

Interesting facts

Due to the similarities in appearance to the conure family, the Hahn’s macaw have sometimes been cross-bred with blue-crowned and sun conures to produce macaw-conure hybrids.
They are smallest of the three subspecies of the red-shouldered macaw. The other two members are the noble macaw ( n. cumanensis) and the long-winged macaw (D. n. longipennis). The difference between the Hahn’s and the other two is the fact that while the former’s beak is black, the other two’s beaks are horn-colored.