new macaw owner basic questions

Hi All
I just adopted a severe macaw on Wednesday, my only other bird experience was eons ago with my sulfur crested "sunny". so far i am just IN LOVE with my boy...i have a few simple stupid questions tho and figured i'd get faster information here and know that the rescue gals are VERY BUSY too....

okay first things first, does this awesome little "purr" thing while he's on his perch near me....is that a happy pur or just a noise? or is it a WHO KNOWS thing?

he doesn't seem to drink a lot of water? he came with a perch that has a water bowl on it (and i put him in his HUGE cage at night with water) but i rarely see him drink......

Yesterday we made great strides already (i was amazed) he was on my shoulder quite a few times, he came back to me after he was done exploring the couch and he's now letting me pet him i so did NOT expect this to all happen so soon...

if there are any books or sites that you can recommend so i can soak in all that i can about these great guys please let me know....since i was a little kid i always wanted a "HUGE" bird (had seen a couple blue n golds and wanted one forever) so starting small and hoping to one day add the "BIG BIRD" of my dreams...here is a photo of one of the ones i'd LOVE to have that i got to hold at the rescue ;-)

Wow congratulations on your dream bird! He is absolutely gorgeous!

I grew up with a blue and gold macaw in our house and still miss him.

The purring is usually a sign of contentment.

Here are some sites about them, the one specifically talks about drinking water. Hope it helps.
http://www.birdchannel.com/media/bird-diet-and-health/bird-nutrition/macaw-nutrient-needs.aspx.pdf
Macaws: Species information and Photos
Those Majestic Macaws

ooops i might have miscommunicated, the bird in the photo is my dream bird, but i just adopted a severe macaw after i am more accustomed to birds in general i'll be going for my dream one....THANK YOU for the information

No I think my Afrikaans brain maybe just read your post wrong! So now where is the photos of the severe macaw?

I read your post again and heaven knows how I made that mistake - it is definitely more than an Afrikaans brain it is tired as well. Sorry.

i will get some photos today as my son is coming to visit so going to have him snap a couple shots of myself and my "salsa" boy

ohhh forgot i took some quick shots of him with my point and shoot last night, here he is enjoying a part of my apple ;-) he's such a good boy....

Thank you! He IS gorgeous! How old is he now?

he was just dumped off in a parakeet sized cage, so we really don't have a whole lot of information about him :-( from what i can tell at one point someone spent some time with him, his behavior is pretty nice if you don't let him push you around....he's typical naughty but not in a "bad" way (yet). he's VERY unsure about perching my arm tho...almost like his balance is off, but he's getting better...