894 



PARROT. 



in considerable quantities &s an ingredient in their 

 soups. It is reported, that, when they feed upon 

 certain poisonous plants, the inanchineel, for instance, 

 their flesh becomes poisonous, though the fruit does 

 not hurt them. It is probable, however, that this is 

 exaggerated in the same manner as the deadly 

 qualities of the manchinecl tree itself have been ex- 

 aggerated. There is no doubt that both the fruit 

 and the juice of this tree are exceedingly acrid ; and 

 that a portion of the concentrated juice, inserted into 

 a wound, would produce death ; but there is no 

 truth in the old story of the odour given out by the 

 tree and the water dripping from it being poisonous. 

 It is certain, however, that the juice of this tree was 

 at one time made use of, by the French colonists in 

 America, for the purpose of inflicting a most barba- 

 rous torture upon their slaves. The scourges, with 

 which they lashed those unfortunate creatures, were 

 prepared by being steeped in the juice of man- 

 chineel ; and thus every blow inflicted by the scourge 

 caused the same agony as if that scourge had been 

 red-hot iron. Acridity appears to be the leading 

 character of all parts of the manchineel ; and there- 

 fore it can hardly be supposed that these maccaws, 

 which have soft fleshy tongues, and, as one naturally 

 supposes, a pretty keen sense of taste, would feed 

 upon it. In the case of all those marvellous stories, 

 which are told about birds and other animals eat- 

 ing poisonous substances, and becoming poisonous 

 themselves in consequence of so doing.it is necessary 

 to exercise a due degree of caution before we give 

 credit to them. 



Aracanga Maccaw (M. Aracangci). This species 

 bears considerable resemblance to the last-mentioned ; 

 and the two have sometimes been confounded with 

 each other under the common name of red and blue 

 maccavv. Red and blue are certainly the prevailing 

 colours of both ; but the red upon this one is of a 

 different tint from that on the former, inclining more 

 to crimson than to -scarlet. The authorities are not 

 agreed as to the size, some describing it as smaller 

 than the scarlet and blue species, and some as larger. 

 We believe the specimens of it differ very consider- 

 ably in size, and that the principal difference of 

 dimensions is in the length of the tail, which, in 

 healthy birds, is about twice as long as the body, 

 that is, rather more than two feet in length. When 

 the bird is in bad health, this member is shorter, and 

 has not the firm and decided character by which the 

 full vigour of the bird is indicated. In such cases, 

 also, the general plumage loses the greater part of 

 its gloss, and the bird is, altogether, very inferior in 

 appearance. The bill is very large and powerful, 

 like that of the preceding species ; but the upper 

 mandible, instead of being white, is pale lemon 

 yellow, with the exception of a dusky spot at each 

 angle of the gape ; and the under mandible is black, 

 or nearly so. The naked space on the cheeks is 

 covered with pale pink skin, puckered and wrinkled, 

 so that it has something the appearance of scales, 

 but without any longitudinal arches of small feathers ; 

 the feathered part of the head, the neck, the scapu- 

 lars, the back, the breast, and the belly, are dark red ; 

 the middle coverts of the wings are bright yellow, 

 tipped with greenish blue ; the bastard wings and the 

 quills are deep azure ; the rump and upper and under 

 coverts of the tail are of the same colour, but consi- 

 derably paler, and with a shade of purple ; the tail is 

 very handsome, consisting of four middle feathers 



of deep red, a red and blue one on each side of these, 

 and the remaining ones altogether blue. This, hosv- 

 evcr, is the marking of the upper side only, for the 

 under side of the tail is wholly deep red, which con- 

 trasts beautifully with the pale blue of the under tail- 

 coverts. 



This bird is found in the same localities as the one 

 last mentioned, and, from the accounts, it appears to 

 be equally abundant. In all its habits, indeed, it 

 bears so close a resemblance to the former, that a 

 description of the one will serve for that of the other, 

 with the exception of the particulars which we have 

 stated. As is the case with all the maccaws, this 

 species is not impatient of captivity, provided that it 

 is duly fed. It is a magnificent bird both in size and 

 in plumage, but it is a bird of comparatively little 

 resource, and susceptible of only a very slight degree 

 of education. For this reason, it is not at all adapted 

 for being a pet bird ; and in the house it is intolerable, 

 both on account of the use which it makes of its 

 powerful bill in the work of destruction, and of the 

 loudness and harshness of its screaming. In large 

 collections, however, where birds or other animals 

 are kept, or professed to be kept, as much as pos- 

 sible, in a state of nature, it is highly ornamental ; 

 and there are few birds in the collection of the Zoo- 

 logical Society of London which draw more attention 

 on account of their mere size, form, and plumage, 

 than a specimen of this maccaw. It should seem 

 that the colour of this species is not absolutely con- 

 stant, for specimens have been mentioned in which 

 the shoulder and lower part of the neck hud a 

 yellowish tinge. There is, indeed, a good deal of 

 uncertainty about the describing of any of the parrot 

 race entirely from their 'colours ; and yet, in the 

 species which are nearly allied to each other in size 

 and in habit, the colours are almost the only means 

 of distinction that can be made use of. Hence the 

 description, how carefully soever it may be drawn 

 up, can seldom be made anything more than an 

 account of a single individual ; and it very often 

 happens that this account will not apply to the very 

 next individual with which one meets. 



Blue and Yellow Maccaw (M. ararauna). This 

 is a handsome species, though very different in the 

 colours of its plumage from those which have been 

 mentioned. .It is also susceptible of a little more 

 education, and therefore it is the maccaw which we 

 most frequently meet with about the houses of those 

 who are fond of keeping ornamental birds. It can 

 be taught to articulate, though very sparingly, and 

 with little distinctness. It is, however, much more 

 obedient to the calls of those about it, and shows 

 more sensibility to kind treatment than most of the 

 maccaws ; nor does it appear to be so incessantly 

 fond of pulling to pieces everything that comes 

 within its reach. Like the others, it is a native of 

 the richer parts of intertropical America, Brazil, the 

 valley of the Amazon, and the forests interior of the 

 settlements along the southern shore of the Caribbean 

 Sea. It is fond of rich and marshy places, where it 

 roosts generally on the tall palm trees, and lives in 

 great part on their fruit. As is the case with its con- 

 geners, it generally keeps in pairs, or, at most, in the 

 little family pack, for a short time after the young 

 are capable of using the wing. This appears to be a 

 general habit with all birds which reside in the 

 perennially rich places of the tropical forests. It 

 sometimes happens, however, that the rains fail, or 



