The Green-winged Macaw is the 2nd largest macaw in the world, with 1st place awarded to the Hyacinth Macaw. The Greenwings can weigh in at over 2.5 pounds and measure up to 37 inches long with their beautiful tail feathers. With their large size comes a big personality.
They are a well-rounded macaw with a fair talking ability, a great capacity for learning complicated behaviors, generally affectionate and hands-on, and a strong bond with their owners. Many macaw owners love them for their playfulness and puppy-like demeanor, but just like a puppy, without proper handling, training, and guidelines, they can be a handful.
At a glance, Greenwing Macaws can easily be confused with Scarlet Macaws. Both are primarily red, with blue on the wings and tail, and a white patch of skin on their faces. 3 things will help to identify a Greenwing Macaw.
1. The lines of facial feathers on the white patch of skin are thick and bright red.
2. The central band of color on the wing is green.
3. In a side-by-side comparison, a Greenwing is much larger than a Scarlet.
Green-winged Macaws can be very long-lived, with a conservative life-span of over 45 years. In the wild, they are found throughout the northern and central forests of South America. They are well known for being observed in large flocks at the clay licks with many other species of parrots.