Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various parrots of several genera found in Mexico and South and Central America, including the largest parrots and characterized by a long tail, curved powerful bill, and usually brilliant plumage.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A large American parrot of the family Psittacidæ and subfamily Arinæ, having a very long graduated tail and the face partly bare of feathers.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any parrot of the genus Ara, Sittace, or Macrocercus. About eighteen species are known, all of them found in Central and South America. They are large and have a very long tail, a strong hooked bill, and a naked space around the eyes. The voice is harsh, and the colors are brilliant and strongly contrasted; they are among the largest and showiest of parrots. Different species names have been given to the same macaw, as for example the Hyacinthine macaw, which has been variously classified as Anodorhyncus hyacynthinus, Anodorhyncus maximiliani, and Macrocercus hyacynthinus.
  • noun (Bot.) a West Indian name for a prickly kind of nightshade (Solanum mammosum).
  • noun (Bot.) a tropical American palm (Acrocomia fusiformis and other species) having a prickly stem and pinnately divided leaves. Its nut yields a yellow butter, with the perfume of violets, which is used in making violet soap. Called also grugru palm.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of various parrots of the genera Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Orthopsittaca, Primolius and Diopsittaca of Central and South America, including the largest parrots and characterized by long sabre-shaped tails, curved powerful bills, and usually brilliant plumage.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America and South America; among the largest and showiest of parrots

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Portuguese macaú, from macaúba, kind of palm tree, from Tupí macahuba, palm tree : maca, palm + ybá, tree.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Portuguese macao, from Tupian

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Examples

  • The macaw was a baby, a little chunk of pink flesh with no feathers.

    Archive 2007-01-01 Anne Johnson 2007

  • The macaw was a baby, a little chunk of pink flesh with no feathers.

    The Gods Are Deaf Anne Johnson 2007

  • "Then _I_ must go, my lady," said Marriott, angrily, "that is certain; for to part with my macaw is a thing I cannot do to please _any_ body."

    Tales and Novels — Volume 03 Maria Edgeworth 1808

  • 'Then I must go, my lady,' said Marriott, angrily, 'that is certain; for to part with my macaw is a thing I cannot do to please any body.'

    Belinda 1801

  • We also get to sell a service which allows us not only to profit in the business in usual sense, but also to invest in really cool things, like macaw research and conservation or sharing with indigenous communities committed to protecting their territories.

    Wendy Diamond: In The Jungle With PeruNature's Kurt Holle Wendy Diamond 2012

  • For rain forests, I hope to be a grandfather that can walk in the rainforest with his grandson or daughter and tell him, "Well, this macaw nest on this shihuahuaco tree here, it's exactly the same way I remember it 20 or 40 or 60 years ago, and it's still producing chicks every year."

    Wendy Diamond: In The Jungle With PeruNature's Kurt Holle Wendy Diamond 2012

  • And Captain Flint, the green parrot, is played by a scarlet macaw.

    TV review: Treasure Island; Endeavour 2012

  • We also get to sell a service which allows us not only to profit in the business in usual sense, but also to invest in really cool things, like macaw research and conservation or sharing with indigenous communities committed to protecting their territories.

    Wendy Diamond: In The Jungle With PeruNature's Kurt Holle Wendy Diamond 2012

  • As a direct result, "parrot patrols" organized by local communities in the region, 11 scarlet macaw chicks who were confiscated directly from poachers were provided care until they were old enough to fly and rejoin their flocks and families, instead of spending the rest of their lives in small cages.

    Will Travers: Canary in a Coal Mine? A Day to Save the Birds.... Will Travers 2012

  • For rain forests, I hope to be a grandfather that can walk in the rainforest with his grandson or daughter and tell him, "Well, this macaw nest on this shihuahuaco tree here, it's exactly the same way I remember it 20 or 40 or 60 years ago, and it's still producing chicks every year."

    Wendy Diamond: In The Jungle With PeruNature's Kurt Holle Wendy Diamond 2012

Comments

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  • Blue macaw

    August 23, 2008

  • Magnificent creatures. :-)

    August 24, 2008

  • Bird appears to be named after the tree that produces the fruits it likes to eat.

    August 11, 2021