A. F. Moody—Rearing a Red-and-Yellow Macaw at Lilford. 87


THE REARING OF A RED-AND-YELLOW

MACAW AT LILFORD


By A. F. Moody


Particulars of our nesting Macaws (Ara chloroptera) at liberty

have already appeared in this Magazine, 1 but I hope that a few supple¬

mentary notes referring to a young bird which was reared here this

autumn may be of interest.


Although the parents had been engaged at the nest from May

onwards no certain knowledge was possessed that young had been

hatched ; it came as a pleasant though not unlooked-for surprise,

therefore, when, on the evening of 27th September, four Red Macaws

were seen flying instead of the usual three. When first seen, on what

was probably its first flight, this youngster was quite a quarter of a mile

from home, the parents vainly endeavouring to entice it back to the

nest. This was only accomplished by easy stages the next day, the

young bird, meanwhile, roosting for the first night in a roadside tree.


For the next few days it sat about in the vicinity of the nest,

the parents visiting it at intervals and supplying food from the crop.

This method of feeding was continued for some weeks, 18th November

being the first date on which the young bird was seen partaking from

the food pans.


Viewed casually on its first appearance, the youngster was hardly

distinguishable from the parents, being equally brilliant in colouring ;

but on a closer examination it was seen to be more slenderly built,

with a shorter tail and less massive bill, the dark part of the under

mandible being more grey—a description which tallies with that of

the young bird which left the nest on 19th December of last year.


It is quite impossible to give the period of incubation or the date

when the young were hatched. All the data available is that the female

disappeared within the hollow tree about 30th May and remained there,

more or less continuously (she was fed by the male), until a week or

two before the young bird appeared.


At the time of writing, 30th December, our youngster is very like

the adults in appearance and behaviour, but it is still noticeably more

slender, and has a rather different facial expression and a darker eye.


1 April, 1934, p. 103.



