THE MACAWS. 187 



learnt how to hide themselves so cunningly in the thick tops of 

 the highest forest trees, that they can with difiSculty be shot. 

 They have been almost universally driven out of the inhabited 

 districts. Their nests are made in the hollows of gigantic old 

 trees, and are occupied yearly by the same couples. They lay 

 but two eggs, which are hatched by the hen only. 



The majority of those imported are young ones, taken from 

 the nest by the Indians, reared by hand, and brought to the 

 seaports ; consequently, nearly all the macaws which come into 

 the market are fully, or at least half, tame. 



In captivity they are, as stated before, exceedingly healthy 

 and hardy, and, at the same time, good-tempered and affec- 

 tionate ; but, on the other hand, a macaw, when vicious, is 

 extremely dangerous. An account of these birds, by the best 

 connoisseur in this subdivision of parrots — Mr. Fiedler, university 

 bookseller in Agram — will be found interesting. He has kept a 

 variety of species for many years, and declares emphatically that 

 it is a mistake to suppose that macaws are not suited for keeping 

 in a room. ''On the contrary," he says, ''I can assert with 

 confidence that none of them are screamers, and may, in truth, 

 be kept in the room even of a nervous lady. Of course, one 

 must not buy the first macaw that comes to hand, but one 

 which is still young, and which is capable of receiving affec- 

 tionate treatment and training. Such a bird will not only 

 become uncommonly tame, allow itself to be caught and petted 

 by a child, and fly into the open air and come back at call, 

 but will never once screech." In contrast to this account, 

 however, a macaw in the Zoological Gardens, where it is some- 

 times wrongly treated by the attendants and very frequently 

 teased by the public, may become an incorrigible screamer and 

 a really vicious bird. 



The macaws learn to say many words, often whole sentences, 

 with a loud, powerful, but usually an indistinct utterance. 

 In capacity for speech they are, on the whole, a long way 

 behind the Grey Parrots and Amazons, as well as the Alex- 

 andrine Parrakeet, which is more nearly related to them ; 

 although otherwise they are indeed very intelligent birds. The 

 smaller species, again, are greatly surpassed by the larger in 

 both respects. 



The macaws are fed similarly to the Amazons and Grey 

 Parrots. The larger species are mostly kept singly, fastened by 

 a chain to a stand, and the smaller species in couples in 



