All macaws are members of the parrot family and the hyacinth macaw is one of the very largest of the parrots.

They are a deep cobalt blue, and sport an extremely large oversized beak. The beak is curved and looks quite prominent on the macaws. It is almost entirely blue and has black under the wings. It has a large black beak with bright yellow along the sides of the lower part of the beak and also yellow circling its eyes. The female and male are nearly indistinguishable, although the female is typically a bit more slender.

If you plan to acquire a Hyacinth Macaw as a family pet, it might also be wise to either get a young bird, shortly after weaning, or one that has been well socialized. Hyacinths are easily trained, and are, by nature, very affectionate birds. If a baby is shy when you get him, it will normally not take much time to get him to respond to affection from you. With properly training and socialization, you couldn't find a more affectionate or responsive macaw as a pet bird.

The Hyacinth Macaw is endangered.

It is about 32 to 36 inches long, of which more than half is the pointed, graduated tail typical of macaws. Average weight is about 2 to 2.5 pounds. The plumage is mostly scarlet, but the rump and tail-covert feathers are light blue, the greater upperwing coverts are yellow, the upper sides of the flight feathers of the wings are dark blue as are the ends of the tail feathers, and the undersides of the wing and tail flight feathers are dark red with metallic gold iridescence. There is bare white skin around the eye and from there to the bill. The upper mandible is mostly pale horn in color and the lower is black. Sexes are alike; the only difference between ages is that young birds have dark eyes, and adults have light yellow eyes.

The Scarlet Macaw is extremely intelligent and can be a very talented talker. This species has a strong personality and should be given a lot of attention and freedom. One should provide a large cage plus a stand or play area where a large macaw can exercise. This species has a loud voice and can be quite vocal at times. Macaws are quite social and can be very friendly with a number of people if socialized well at a young age.

Blue and Gold Macaws come from Central and South America, ranging from Panama to northwestern Paraguay. Often characterized as very outgoing and interactive in temperament, some refer to them as the "clowns" of the large macaw family.

Some Blue and Golds become excellent talkers, and some love to "play games" with their owners, like versions of peek-a-boo. Brilliantly colored, they can reach up to 34" in length (including tail) and live up to 50 years of age or more. Like all macaws, they have the potential to become extremely cuddly and gentle companions with the whole family. This requires a firm but gentle manner, with decisive limit setting. It is essential to have a physical setting that allows this athletic bird the freedom to move and play. Appropriate cages and play gyms, properly placed, can provide endless hours of entertainment and joy for owner and companion bird alike.

The Hahn's Macaw or Red-shouldered Macawis the smallest macaw available in the pet trade. These macaws are relatively common in the pet trade, but their numbers have been dropping in the wild due to habitat loss.

Like all macaws, the Hahn's macaw has a long narrow tail and a large head. It has bright green feathers on the body, with dark or slate blue feathers on the head just above the beak. The wings and tail have feathers that are bright green above and olive-green below. The leading edges of the wings, especially on the underside, are red. (These red feathers appear at puberty.) Their eyes are orange, and the skin around the eyes is white without feathers, just as in the larger macaws. This bare patch of facial skin is smaller in proportion to the head than the one seen in larger macaws.