parrotLife_Printers-3 (Page 1) - Rolf C. Hagen Inc.

18
1- Macaws originally come from:
A) Almost everywhere in the world
south of the equatorial tropic
B) Central America and South America
C) South of Europe, they were imported
in Central and South America by
the first Spanish missionaries
D) Indonesia
E) from the pet stores
2- Macaws are endangered
animals and some species
have already disappeared:
A) False, they have all been protected
for many years now and live in protected
reserves. They have been
able to reproduce sufficiently so
their populations are quite large
now. So far no species have
disappeared.
B) True, although there are reserves
and groups protecting them, their
habitat is disappearing every
day. At least 2 species are
already extinct in the wild.
C) False, macaws have such a strong
instinct for survival that in the last
few years they have begun to lay
clutches twice the normal size,
so their numbers are continually
increasing in the wild.
D) False, there are always a lot of
macaw babies in breeder’s facilities
and pet stores, therefore they must
not be threatened.
3- The Latin word for macaw is:
A) Ararauna
B) Agapornis
C) Ara
D) Aratinga
4- Macaws have a life
expectancy of:
A) Over a hundred years
B) Between 40 to 60 years
C) Between 80 to 90 years
D) Between 15 to 25 years
E) B and D
Test Test
your macaw I.Q.:
5- The large macaws have enough
strength in their beak to:
A) Barely crack an almond
B) Cut an iron rod of 3 cm diameter
C) Break a human wrist
D) Almost no strength at all, it’s just
that their beak is really sharp and it
serves as a scissor.
6- Macaws have specifics
nutritional needs so their diet
should be composed of:
A) 75% to 85% of a good commercial
pellet without artificial colorants.
The remaining 15% to 25% should
be nuts like almonds, walnut or
Brazilian nuts and a bit of a good
mixture of seeds once or twice a
week. You can add to that fresh
food so your macaw (but mostly
you) feels like he is part of the gang
when it’s meal time.
B) Although pellets are what they
should eat, you should alternate the
brand of pellets you use, that way
he will have the best from every
brand.
C) 50% of a good seeds mix on which
you add a vitamin supplement and
50% of fresh food like; a mix of
cooked beans, a wide variety of
fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs,
pastas and cereals. To make sure
your bird gets all the nutrients he
needs you should add spiruline,
wheat germ oil and so on.
D) Only seeds and fruits because
after all, this is what they would
be eating in the wild.
7- All macaws species have the
same nutritional needs:
A) True
B) False, some have very specific
needs like the Hyacinth, red-bellied
and blue & gold Macaw
C) False, all the species with red feathers
(red-bellied, scarlet and greenwinged)
need more beta-carotene
in their diet in order to keep their
color.
QUIZ
FUN FEATHERED FACTS
Analyze your
results:
Minus 100 to 0: You should probably not
get yourself involved in living with a
macaw or any other bird for that matter!
Maybe a cactus would be enough trouble
for you although you do have to water it
a few times a year…
Between 0 and 70: Read more, attend
conferences and keep on buying our
magazine you still need to learn a lot
(about macaws at least).
Between 70 and 140: You do know quite
a bit about macaws, but maybe you didn’t
get the hundred points in question
17… But don’t worry this is an ethical
question so it doesn’t impoverish your
intelligence!
Between 140 and 240 points:
Congratulations! You are a whiz, a crack
on macaw knowledge. You either have or
had one, or you badly want one and you
have done your research very well. Plus
you probably got the ethical questions
right (of course you were being judged on
my ethics’ standards!).
Please let me know your score and I’ll let
you know in the next issue how well or
poorly you all did on this one. Meanwhile
continue to learn from all possible
resources and keep your sense of humor. I
know I will be sharpening my claws for
the next quizzes… (Quiz Answers on pg 53)
Sylvie Aubin