450 Walter Goodfellow—Some Reminiscences of a Collector


she asks for it.” They had found out what she meant, and her name

as well as other things. She lived over here twelve years and only

came to an untimely end last year greatly missed by those who loved

her. She picked up a lot of English and other accomplishments, but

used her Spanish less and less retaining only a few sentences.


It seems that the Bolivian Blue-and-yellow Macaws are larger

and more brilliantly coloured than those from other parts, for I have

never seen one over here anything like mine. Except for the same

arrangement of colours all those at the Zoo might have belonged to

another species altogether. I often wished I could have brought mine

up from the country just to show them what a Blue-and-yellow Macaw

could look like. I think “ Lora ” was a female, and no doubt would

have nested if she had had a mate. Some seasons, about August, she

came into condition and was very noisy and unsettled, keeping mostly

to the bottom of her cage. At these times her nostrils became very

swollen and red. I have not noticed this with a Macaw before. I wonder

if anyone else has. I was her favourite up to the end, for although

I only saw her at intervals she always knew me instantly, even once

after two years’ absence, and as long as I was there she had no use for

anyone else, but tolerated just two others when I was away. After

I had this bird I could never shoot another Macaw, and never will

again, in fact, I am now averse to killing anything, especially birds.


Like many other birds Macaws like to rest during the midday

hours, but instead of choosing a shady tree they seem to prefer a high

one standing well above the others with wide spreading branches and

little leaf. One might be close under them without knowing there

was a bird about, for they keep perfectly quiet as long as they see

they have not been observed, but give one look up and the place is

a Babel. A flock of Macaws makes a lovely picture against the intensely

blue sky and vivid sunlight of the dry season, and if they are not

absolutely at rest they have a regular game among themselves.


A boy one evening brought me five very young birds with eyes

scarcely open, and I was not quite sure what they were until the next

morning when I saw they must be Swallows. Of course these were

useless to me, but I thought I would give the poor little beggars a

chance. Fortunately I was always able to get an almost unlimited



