70 
BED AND BLUE MACAW. 
pecks and tears them, above all those on the first joint of the pinion, 
and it even makes holes in different parts of its body.” 
Poor dyspeptic Macaw, if the picture of your sufferings just quoted 
had been drawn to-day, instead of a hundred years ago, it could not 
have been more accurate. What then is the proper food for this 
species? “Many bird-fanciers”, continues our author, “say that the 
best food for Parrots is simply the crumbs of white bread, well baked, 
without salt, soaked in water, and then slightly squeezed in the hand. 
But though this appears to agree with them pretty well, it is however 
certain that now and then something else ought to be added.” 
So, indeed, we should say! and Bechstoin was of the same opinion, 
for he goes on to remark: “I have observed that Parrots which are 
thus fed are very thin, have hardly strength to bear moulting, and 
sometimes even do not moult at all: in that case they become asthmatic, 
and die of consumption.” 
Away then with “sop” and its inevitable concomitants of dirty sour 
tins and diarrhsea: a Macaw fed on oats, canary seed, maize, and 
hemp seed, with the addition, now and then, of a lunch biscuit, ripe 
fruit of all sorts, a slice of carrot, turnip, potato, or even mangel 
wurzel, will be healthy and his cage clean : on the ordinary diet usually 
given in this country he is generally unhealthy, and always dirty, which 
is not by any means the fault of the poor bird, but that of its master, 
who has it in his power, by treating his Macaw more in conformity 
with its natural habits, to correct the evils of which he complains in 
connection with keeping it in captivity. 
The appearance of this Macaw, even when caged, or chained to a 
perch, is such as to at once arrest the attention of the most indifferent 
beholder; but when seen at liberty, in this country even, actively 
climbing among the branches of a large tree, or wheeling round and 
round in the sunshine, like an enormously exaggerated butterfly, he 
ought to be “a joy for ever”, for that he is “a thing of beauty”, 
few, we imagine that have ever seen a perfect specimen of his race, 
will be ready to deny. 
The head, neck, breast, belly, thighs, top of the back, and the upper 
wing coverts, are brilliant vermillion. The lower part of the back and 
the rump are light blue. The scapulars and large wing coverts are a 
mixture of blue, yellow, and green. The naked cheeks are covered 
with wrinkled whitish skin. The under surface of all the tail feathers 
is red. 
The female bears a general resemblance to her mate, but the colours 
of her plumage are of a duller shade than his. 
This fine bird is a native of South America, abounding in the 
