Trusty the Macaw

Hey Kids, Trusty here. I’m a scarlet macaw, and we live anywhere from Mexico to Brazil in the wild (and all over the world as pets). We mostly eat seeds, nuts, and fruit, but some of my cousins who live in the Amazon will occasionally lick the clay-rich mud along riverbanks. Some scientists believe the soil neutralizes any toxic chemicals macaws might eat in seeds or unripe fruits, helping to prevent poisoning, or at least stomachaches. Other scientists believe that Amazonian macaws eat clay to get more sodium and potassium in their diets. If they’d just ask us, we’d tell them they both are right.

But humans can be very hard to understand sometimes. Even though my name is Trusty, most people call me “Polly” and keep asking me if I want a cracker for some reason. Don’t get me wrong: I like crackers, but I’d rather have some almonds, sunflower seeds, or a nice crispy carrot or apple slice. Sometimes we’ll even eat insects (for a protein snack).

You’ve probably seen movies, cartoons, or pictures of some of my relatives sitting on the shoulder of a pirate captain. Since we have two toes on each foot that point forward and two that point backward, that means we can perch on a branch (or shoulder) for a long time without ever having to worry about falling off. Pirates like us because we have beautiful bright feathers, are friendly, make trustworthy pets, and live a long time (up to 60 years, which is longer than most pirates!). We can fly anywhere we want on the ship, even high up to the crow’s nest to make sure the lookout hasn’t fallen asleep. We can also imitate the things people say, especially if we hear it a lot, and that may be another reason pirate captains like us: the ship’s crew doesn’t seem to complain out loud as much when we’re around!

And just like pirate captains know they can trust their parrots (macaws are part of the parrot family or biblical “kind”), people know that they can trust God completely (Psalm 71:5; Proverbs 3:5) because he is trustworthy and does what is right (Psalm 25:8–9). And he always keeps his word (Psalms 111:7) and promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). I may be a trusty macaw, but God is the definition of good, righteous, and trustworthy. God loves people so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for the sins of all who believe in him (John 3:16). Jesus also promised that he would never cast out or leave or forsake those who come to him (John 6:37; Hebrews 13:5). We can trust him because he alone is always faithful (Hebrews 10:23)!

Scarlet Macaw Classification

Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Ara
Species: macao
Lifespan: 30-60 years