SCARLET OR RED, BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW 



but fly about in pairs or small groups in the 

 early morning and at dusk, when their short 

 hooked bill, slow laborious flight and noisy 

 calls make them conspicuous wherever they 

 are still found. The small parakeets however 

 do not object to bright sunshine. 



The bird student will often find the species 

 difficult to distinguish on account of their 

 wildness and the peculiar character of their 

 plumage, which though really brightly colored, 

 appears blackish in the poor light of evening 

 and under the conditions (usually flying with 

 the sky as background) under which they are 

 most commonly seen. 



i. Ara macao (Linnaeus) 



Scarlet or Red, Blue and Yellow Macaw. 

 "Garuaca Mayo" 



Length 845 mm. (33.30 in.); tail 545 mm. 

 (21.45 in -)- 



Sexes alike. Head, neck, back, shoulders, 

 lesser wing coverts, most of tail and under 

 parts scarlet; middle wing coverts orange 

 yellow; greater wing coverts and quills dull 

 blue; rump azure blue; bare skin pinkish white; 

 bill, upper mandible pinkish white with a tri- 

 angular patch of black near base and tipped with 

 black, lower mandible black. 



Fairly common in some parts of the Republic 

 where they are usually seen in pairs or in small 

 flocks and frequent the tops of tall trees. If 

 any macaws still occur in the Canal Zone, they 

 are probably this species. I had one in cap- 

 i54 



