A few species, now extinct, once inhabited the islands of the Carribean. Macaws range in size from very small to extremely large. All Ara species have conspicuous patches of bare skin on the face, although some species, such as the military, green-winged and blue and gold, have bands of short feathers striping the facial skin. All macaws have long tapering tail feathers and display brilliantly colored plumage. Some of the feathers are tiny, whereas others, such as the heavy flight feathers of the wing and tail, are very large.
Some birds appear to have eyelashes.
In reality these eyelashes are specially structured feathers. There is no sexual dimorphism in any of the species, and immature birds resemble the parents. Mandibles are made of hard keratin and may be beige, black, grayish or two-toned. Stories relating to the amount of pressure in the bite of macaws do not exaggerate when they tell of individuals breaking broom handles in half. It has been my experience that many macaws occupy themselves by crushing coral or granit rock when made available.