Can Blue Macaws Fly Backwards?

Last Updated on February 8, 2022

The term flying is related to all birds in the world. Blue-throated, Spix’s macaws, and Blue & gold macaws are parrots known as blue macaws due to their specific color. Do you know about the flight of the blue macaws? How do they fly? Is it possible for blue macaws to fly backward?

The blue macaws can not fly backward. They can fly forward and upward by using their wings. Their wings are large, and they can have high and long flights. They can fly at the speed of 35 miles per day. The only bird that can fly back is the hummingbird.

If you go further, you can find the reasons for a bird’s flight. Why do blue macaws cannot fly backward? Is there any bird who can fly back? Can any parrot species fly backward? How does a macaw take a flight?

Let us discuss in detail the flight of a blue macaw. What is the reason for not flying backward?

How Does A Blue Macaw Fly?

A blue macaw flies with the help of wings. Wings consist of feathers and strong muscles attached to them. Macaw’s flight is associated with the flapping of its wings and the movement of muscles.  Flapping is done with the help of their strong arm and chest muscles. When it uses its powers to flap the wings, a force called thrust is produced. 

During the flight, the air flows around the wings. This air moves faster at the upper side of the wing while lower inside the wings. The pressure built on the wings is lesser on the top than underneath the wing. Because of this pressure, a force called lift keeps the bird up in the air. 

Blue macaws can fly forward and upward in search of their food. They are social and interactive, so they like to fly together, usually in flocks. For foraging, they can pass the whole day. While landing, they drop their tail and down its feet. They do not flap their wings deeply. Use it as brakes to slow down before grasping the branch with the help of feet.

How Fast Does A Blue Macaw Fly?

Macaws can fly high in the mountains in search of food. They usually lick clay. That is why they make high flights to seek macaw licks that are very high clay mountains. A macaw generally flies with a speed of 15 miles per hour, but macaws like blue & gold can fly at 35 miles per hour. It has a wingspan of 41-45 inches. It helps it to pass effectively.

The wing size of all macaws is different depending upon the macaw size. Larger macaws have wings with a long wingspan, while smaller macaws have fewer wingspan. But there is a slight difference in the measurement of male and female flying organs of some species.  Female wings are slightly smaller than a male macaw. 

Flying is possible because of the shape of the whole wing and even some of the individual feathers. Speed of flight depends upon their wing size and shape. A macaw with tiny wings can fly faster than a macaw with enormous wings. Large winged macaws will need little effort to have flights, while the macaws with tiny wings can fly very fast. The blue and yellow macaw flight is slower with shallow wing-beats than a Spix’s macaw, which is smaller.

Why Does A Blue Macaw Fly? 

A blue macaw flies for many reasons.

• To escape from predators. Hawks can quickly eat small macaws like Spix’s macaws.
• The search of food and nesting sites
• Search for a new habitat (in case of habitat loss)
• Searching the better climatic area
• Good exercise 
• Make them happy by reducing stress.

Can A Blue Macaw Fly Backward?

Like all other birds, blue macaws can fly only in the forward direction. Their flying characteristics may also be associated with their light body weight. As their bones are hollow, that is why their weight is sufficient for making flights. They are unable to fly backward because their wings do not support them. According to research, about 99% of all birds can not fly backward.

Which Bird Can Fly Backward?

Besides having wings, all macaws can not fly backward. All parrots, including blue macaws, can fly forward because their wings are designed for it. They can not fly backward even if they try. They cannot be trained to do so. The main reason behind this is the characteristics of their wings. 

All birds fly forward except hummingbirds which can fly backward. Interestingly their wings are designed so that they can fly forward, backward, and upside down too. Their wings are different from blue macaws. 

The fragile bird with a unique wing structure helps it to control multidirectional flight. The main characteristics are these.

• It has long, narrow and tapered wings allowing it to fly more quickly and easily through the wind. 
• It has a ball and a socket joint at the shoulder helpful in rotating the wings in all directions. Because of this ball and socket, a hummingbird can rotate its wings 180 degrees.
• Moreover, the shoulder and the elbow of the hummingbird are closely held with its body.

How Does A Hummingbird Fly Backward?

When it flies, it looks like a helicopter. It can fly forward, right to the left, left to right, up and down, and even backward. With a ball and socket in its shoulder, it can move its wings in all directions. It can move in circles like we move our hands while writing figure 8.

A hummingbird can fly with the quick movement of its wings that is 30 miles per hour. The rapid flapping of wings makes the blur effect during the flight. The wings move at the speed of 15-100 times per second.

Conclusion

Finally, the macaws are colorful and active birds that can fly forward using their wings and muscles attached to them in response to thrust and lift. Their flight depends on the size and shape of their wings. They can not fly backward because of lack the unique characteristics of wings that a hummingbird has. The hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird that can fly backward.

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