MACAWS. 



151 



of which has a file-like surface on its lower side : the 

 culmen either flattened and grooved or rounded and 

 smooth ; the cere forming a band round the whole base 

 of the beak ; the orbital ring frequently complete. 

 Excepting in the genus Psittacula the sexes are much 

 alike. The sub-family is represented in the New World 

 from Carolina to Patagonia. 



Macaws. 



The Macaws are birds of large size, and, in spite of 

 their gaudy colouring, their huge punchinello-like beaks 

 give them a somewhat unpleasing appearance. They 

 have long graduated tails, the feathers of which taper 

 to a point, the two central ones being the longest. 

 In captivity they are generally attached to Parrot- 

 stands, -with food at one end and water at the other 

 of the perch ; but, to see them to advantage, the canal 

 aviary at Regent's Park is most suitable. Although 

 they bear a good character for intelligence and general 

 amiability, they should never be implicitly trusted. I 

 have known one (for a very slight cause) to inflict a 

 vicious and very severe bite upon its master, which 

 might indeed have cost him a finger. Macaws, are, to* 

 me, the least attractive of all Psittaci : they are too 

 large for a cage, too powerful to handle with perfect 

 safety, they are frightful screechers, not cleanly, and 

 their colouring is too loud to be restful. On the wing, 

 in their native haunts, I have no doubt these gaudy 

 monsters harmonise with their surroundings, but 

 nowhere else. They should be fed principally on dry 

 seeds : maize, oats, sunflower seeds, hemp, and canary, 

 also a plain dry biscuit from time to time, as well as 

 raw carrot and ripe fruit. The stupid notion that 

 these and other parrots do not require anything to drink 

 should be ignored, for though with the help of plenty 

 of luscious fruit it may be possible to keep the poor 

 things alive for years, a perpetual raging thirst cannot 

 be calculated to improve their condition of health or 

 temper. 



HYACINTHINE MACAW (AnodorJiynchus hyacinihlnus). 



The adult bird is cobalt-blue, slightly paler on the 

 head and neck, and duller below than above ; the base 

 of the inner webs of the flights and the underside of 

 the wing and tail feathers black ; the beak black, with 

 the lower mandible yellow at the base ; the feet 

 blackish, the naked skin, round the eyes yellow, the 

 iris brown. The female is probably rather emaller than 

 the male, with a smaller, shorter, and perhaps narrower 

 beak. Hab., Central Brazil and Mattogrosso. 



Burmeister says of this bird : " It is less shy than the 

 blue and yellow Ara, but is nowhere so abundant or 

 met with in such numerous flocks. According to Aug. 

 de St. Hilaire, one invariably only sees it in pairs. The 

 same observer is certain that this species properly bears 

 the name Ararauna among the natives."* 



There can be little doubt that, as is the case with 

 Macaws generally, this bird lays two or three eggs, 

 but from books at my disposal I have not been able to 

 obtain much, information as to its wild life. Not being 

 a very common bird, even on the Amazon river, it is 

 not surprising that it is not very freely imported, and 

 consequently commands a high price. Russ speaks of 

 it as having only been seen occasionally in zoological 

 gardens, but the Hon. and Rev. F. G. Button says that 

 he has possessed one, and most bird-lovers in this 

 country will remember the fine specimen formerly 

 belonging to Mr. Fulljames. The latter gentleman 



* Bates also mentions this as its native name. 



spoke of the bird as perfectly amiable to its keeper, but 

 spiteful to strangers. The first example exhibited at 

 the London Gardens "was purchased in 1867, since which 

 date other examples have been acquired. 



LEAR'S MACAW (Anodorhynchus leari). 



Cobalt-blue ; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts with 

 narrow paler edges ; flights blackisih-grey towards base 

 of inner webs ; head, neck, and under surface greenish- 

 blue ; the feathers of the abdomen with bluish-green 

 edges ; greater under wing-coverts and flights below 

 blackish-grey ; tail below black ; naked orbital ring 

 orange-yellow ; a large patch behind lower mandible 

 yellow ; beak black ; feet blackish ; irides brown. The 

 female probably differs in the usual way. Hab., South 

 America (exact locality unknown). 



The Rev. H. D. Astley has published an account of 

 three examples of this bird which he possessed, illus- 

 trated by a coloured plate, in The Avicultural Maga- 

 zine, Second Series, "Vol. V., pp. 111-113. He says it 

 " is naturally a bird with a kindly disposition," and 

 " the Lear's Macaws can make themselves heard, no 

 doubt about that, but it is a voice of a much less stri- 

 dent ear-piercing tone than that of the vari-coloured 

 large Macaws. It has more of the Carrion-Crow 

 ' timbre ' in it.'* 



The first example received by the London Zoological 

 Society was purchased in 1860, and others have since 

 been received, but it seems to be rarer than the pre- 

 ceding species. 



GLAUCOUS MACAW (Anodorhynchus glaucus). 



Greenish-blue ; flights blackish towards base of inner 

 web ; head and neck somewhat greyish ; cheeks, throat 

 and front of breast somewhat brownish ; under-surface 

 greener ; the greater under wing-coverts and under 

 surface of flights and tail-feathers iblackish ; naked 

 orbital skin and patch behind lower mandible yellow ; 

 beak black ; feet blackish ; irides probably brown. 

 Female slightly smaller, with shorter beak and shorter 

 terminal hook. Hab., Paraguay, Uruguay, and Southern 

 Brazil. I have been unable to find any notes on the 

 wild 1 life of this bird in any book in my library. Bur- 

 meister tells us nothing about it. 



This rare Macaw did not reach the London Zoo- 

 logical Gardens until 1886. Oddly enough, Russ only 

 speaks of it as being as rare in the trade as A. 

 hyacinthinus, price equally high, only in the case of 

 freshly-imported specimens at 359 marks (he gives 600 

 to 750 marks as the price of A. hyacinthinus). I 

 wonder if any German aviculturist ever gave as much 

 as 37 10s. for a Hyacinthine Macaw ! 



SPIX'S MACAW (Cyanopsittacus spixi). 



The colouring is blue, the head and neck being some- 

 what greyish ; the feathers of the back, upper wing- 

 coverts, rump, upper and under tail-coverts with paler 

 margins ; flights with blackish inner webs ; breast and 

 abdomen slightly greenish ; wings and tail below 

 blackish. Feet blackish ; naked lores and skin round 

 eyes black ; iris pale yellow.* 



The female is a little smaller than the male, and has 

 a narrower and smaller beak, with shorter terminal 

 hook. Hab., Province of Bahia. 



I can discover nothing as to the wild life of this 

 species from books in my library. 



A good illustration, taken from a living example, 



* Burmeister describes the lores 'and cheeks as quite naked, 

 and yellowish white; Dr. Sclaiter says that the lores aad skin 

 surrounding the eyes are black. 



