At six months the chicks look just like their parents and are fully grown. Macaws are popular as pets because of their size and spectacular colors. They can learn to imitate human speech. They can become extremely attached to their owners and be very demanding. However, they have very large, extremely strong bills which are capable of inflicting great damage to fingers, hands, young children, furniture, and property.
Macaws are long-lived, some to over fifty years.
Even though many species are protected, most wild populations are endangered due to destruction of their rain forest habitat and illegal collection for the pet trade.