MACAWS 
At sunset in the Brazilian jungle, flocks of red and blue macaws take 
flight, wheeling and gliding through the trees as they separate into pairs 
and set out for their feeding places. The bright vermilion of their mantles 
and the light blue of their hind parts contrast boldly with the dark jungle 
foliage. In the morning they awaken and fly to a common roost, often a 
decayed tree providing many perches. Here they spread out their wings 
and tails until the sun’s rays have dried the heavy dew that has settled 
on them during the night. When dry and warm, they fly off in small parties, 
searching for the palm fruit that constitutes their food. During the noon¬ 
day heat they seek shelter deep in the jungle, and at evening they meet 
again at their drinking place, before once again they retire for the night. 
Their hours of feeding, drinking, drying and sleeping are quite regular. 
These birds are the most magnificent of parrots, distinguished by their 
brilliant colors, their great size, their two-foot tails, their immense hooked 
beaks and their deafening cries. 
When taken young, red and blue macaws become extremely "docile. 
They learn to talk and also to obey their master’s commands. Like other 
parrots, they have been known to live as long as one hundred years, out¬ 
living a generation or two of masters. 
To teach them to talk, the instructor should stand in an adjoining room 
where he can be heard but not seen and repeat the same words over and 
over again. 
When captured during adulthood, macaws are vicious birds. They 
have been known to demolish their cages, to pull off wallpaper and to eat 
the corners off billiard tables, all the while emitting most ferocious cries. 
Yet in view of the absence of all the objects mentioned in the macaw’s 
native habitat, its adaptability to new surroundings would seem to betoken 
unusual intelligence. An adult macaw has been known to kill a bull terrier 
by tearing its throat open after a prolonged battle. Even tame birds are 
temperamental, flying into a rage at the slightest provocation. Their food 
in captivity consists of oats, canary seed, corn, an occasional slice of carrot, 
turnip or tomato, and now and then a cracker. 
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