Question about tails

[Sambamama]

I have had my macaw for only 3 months now. He keeps me entertained, amazed, and humble.

I am trying to get him to feather out, due to over preening or ?, and I am constantly looking at his tail. It is gorgeous! His chest may have some fuzzies, as well at the tops of his wings, but his tail is lovely. I think about what the wild macaws must go through as far as feathering and molting and such.........So I got to over analyzing and pondering as I am known to do: What happens to these lovely tails if the macaw hen is in the nest?


I understand that the wild macaws adopt a pre made hole to nest in. So does she allow her tail to be folded or broken off? These nests cannot be so large that they accommodate the tail, or can they?


I am just curious. I am not breeding, and I won't. this is just a question because i cant wrap my head around such a long tail in a nest in a tree. How does a hen incubate eggs with such a tail?


I have geese now and they are easily able to accommodate themselves over their eggs in the nest. They do not have space restrictions like the macaw would. How do those of you with domestic macaws build a nest to keep such a tail intact?

 

[weco]

I would have just posted the pics, but I've not been able to master the art of uploading pics to this forum from my system, so you'll have to go looking yourself.....


In the wild, nests are usually chosen so they accommodate mom & chicks…..
Given the size of scarlets, you can get an idea about the size of this nest cavity:

Eureka! three chicks in a nest - Lappa Costa Rica - The Association for Parrot Protection


To give you a better size comparison, scroll down about half way & you will see a couple on the left & a pair of macaws sticking their heads out of their nest on the right (look carefully at the tree the macaws are in…..you could fit a school bus inside of its trunk:

Eureka! three chicks in a nest - Lappa Costa Rica - The Association for Parrot Protection


The trunk of this nest is 3’- 4’ in diameter…..when the cavity is not large enough to accommodate extended tails, they rest them up the trunk & they have enough flexibility in their tails to maneuver them inside the cavity without breaking them (watch a macaw preen its tail feathers):

Preliminary Evaluation and Diagnostics of Scarlet Macaw Chicks in Pine Savanahs of Rus, Rus, Mosquitia, Hondura | Lafeber Conservation and Wildlife

 

[Sambamama]

Thank you! Very large nests is the most logical thing. I appreciate the links to the photos.

 

[MonicaMc]

Thought you may enjoy some other photos as well. Often times, the nests aren't large enough to accommodate tail feathers, as weco said, and the tails will be pointing straight up inside the cavity.

Hyacinth macaw photo - Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus - G7446 - ARKive

Objectives

scarlet macaw | Lafeber Conservation and Wildlife / http://people.anu.edu.au/george.olah/images/stories/Photos/scma in nest.jpg

Saving the Rain Forest in Guatemala?Rain Forest Rescue at arborday.org - Click on macaw chicks to see the size of the nest cavity! Grown chicks image are in a larger nest cavity.