Common Name: Blue and Gold Macaw

Scientific Name: Ara ararauna

My Story: Calypso was born in Big Pine Key in 1997. He came to DRC in 2011. Prior to this he shared a house with seven other birds – a Catalina macaw, a Hahn’s macaw, a Noble macaw, a Quaker Parakeet, a love bird, an Amazon parrot and another blue and gold macaw. They all had their own cages and also had perches around the house so they had a lot of human interaction.

When Calypso was little he was hand fed until he could stand on a perch without tipping over. Whenever he got tired he would just lie down and sleep wherever he was! So, don’t be alarmed if you see Calypso lying on a platform in his cage. His other bird friends don’t do this, but he is so comfortable there he can just go to sleep.

Calypso loves to tear things apart, especially pine cones. Yes, he can be a messy lad, but he is very smart and friendly. He says his aim in life is to educate people about birds like him and emphasize why humans need to think very carefully before having an exotic bird as a house pet. He says they can be high maintenance and live for a very long time! Calypso loves to talk but sometimes gets stage fright in front of a large crowd.  If you whisper a secret to him, he might whisper one back.