With their powerful beaks, Hyacinth Macaws can split very hard nuts, even coconuts, large Brazil nut pods and macadamia nuts. They also eat fruits and seeds, and some mollusks, such as snails, are part of their diet.
Macaws living in the Pantanal feed almost exclusively on the palm nuts of Acrocomia aculeata and Attalea phalerata.
Some nuts eaten by Hyacinthine Macaws are so hard (Acur palmi nuts) that they must first pass through the digestive tract of cattle before they can be eaten. It is only then that the shell of the nut can be split by the beak of the parrot.
Hyacinth parrots also eat clay. Scientists believe this protects the birds from the poison in some fruits and nuts, which the clay absorbs.