Well it is going to depend a lot on the specific bird. Birds even of the same species may have completely different personalities especially depending on age, bonding and early care.



If you are intimidated by the larger beaks I would suggest possibly one of the mini macaws. I love the Hahn's macaws they can be regular little clowns and with the right care and interaction can enjoy the whole family. We have a little buddy Gomez that likes to entertain everyone and loves to be picked up not matter if it is the kids (supervised younger ones) or the adults. The Severe macaw might also be a good choice.



As far as the larger macaws I would steer clear of the military macaws for a family bird unless you are already used to the larger macaws. They can be great additions to the family but tend to be very tempermental. We have had several in through the rescue because the "tame" bird started biting and nipping family members and the household decided they were disposable instead of wanting to work with them. Greenwings and Scarlets are both beautiful birds and would be one of my first choices for their beauty but not necessarily their attitude. I have met and seen both greenwings and scarlets that have bonded well with their owners and families but again have heard of many cases where they become quite tempermental and territorial especially when in season.



For these reasons if you are set on a large macaw I would go with the blue and gold. They are a very pretty bird and usually have the most mellow and clowning attitude. We have worked with many from broken homes, lifechanging situations and cruelty situations and have been able to see their range of personalities. We do have a couple breeder macaws (surrendered/rescued but that's another story)which were not treated well in earlier life and no real human interaction that do not "like" human companionship but even they have accepted stick training and targeting.



Any we have started with (even the supposed aggressive ones) that have had human contact and have not been used as breeders their whole lives have calmed very quickly and are a delight to work with. If you start with a baby B&G or a well raised adult I think you will have a wonderful companion. Again even though these are usually calmer more forgiving birds you can't show a fear of their beaks. Macky startled my husband the first day he arrived and lunged, Rick jumped so now it is a fun game for Macky to lunge and then laugh like it was a great joke. He never bites and will go to Rick quite readily but still likes to lunge to see who will jump. He has never lunged at me but I don't scare as easily, LOL. Some birds will act on fear and will intimidate you making it impossible to train them unless you can overcome your fear. If you are not sure you can handle the larger beaks and larger birds then definitely go with the mini macaws.

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