Godey's Lady's Book

GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK
Philadelphia, March 1850

CAGE BIRDS.

BY ANNA C. AUSTIN.

THE RED AND BLUE MACAW.

This, as well as all other parrots, is kept for the sake of the splendor of its plumage, and its admirable powers of articulation. Some there are, however – for instance, the ash-colored parrot – which likewise imitate the song of birds, as well as pipe very agreeably. All birds which speak, or at least articulate very distinctly, must have a thick, rounded tongue, the band of which, to give it greater freedom, is loosened. Hence it is that parrots, especially the short-tailed ones, are enabled to speak the most distinctly of any birds; the ravens, crows, jackdaws, and jays following next in their capacity for imitating articulate sounds; while, from the peculiar construction of the throat and larynx, starlings, blackbirds, &c., articulate the most distinctly of all.

The blue macaw is one of the largest parrots, being two feet eight inches long, about the size of a moderate fowl. The beak is so strong as to be capable of cracking the stone of a peach; the upper mandible, which is much curved, is white, excepting the tip and base, which are black; the lower mandible is entirely black; the feet are gray; the cheeks naked, and covered with a whitish, rough skin; the irides bright yellow; head, neck, breast, thighs, the upper part of the back, and the upper coverts of the wings are of a brilliant scarlet; the lower part of the back and rump bright blue; the scapular feathers and largest coverts of the wings blue, yellow, and green intermixed; the pinion feathers have the external web of a beautiful ultramarine and royal blue, the inner web is grayish black; the tail is conical, and the two middle pinion feathers are scarlet, with bright brown tips, the next on either side half blue half red, yet intermingled; the four external ones violet, blue above, and beneath pale red.

The female scarcely differs from the male. These colors are not uniform in all, differences sometimes occurring in the wings and tail, yet not sufficiently to prevent the species being recognized.

It is a native of the Brazils, Guiana, and other parts of South America, and chiefly frequents damp forests in couples. It is usually allowed to go freely about, and for a perch it should be supplied with a smooth stick, crossed by a transverse one: like all the parrots, this is a very dirty bird, and it is best to place their perches in a wire cage. When elegance of appearance is desired, the cage may be in form like the engraving, and must be from two and a half to three feet in diameter, and eight feet high, to prevent injury to the beautiful tail feathers, and to give the space necessary for exercise.

In its native forests it feeds chiefly upon the fruit of the palm. With us also it will eat all kinds of fruit; but it is best to feed it upon roll steeped in milk. Biscuit also is not hurtful, but meat, as well as all kinds of pastry and sweetmeats, render it unhealthy; and even if it survives this for several years, it becomes sickly, its plumage gets disordered, it frequently bites out its feathers, especially upon the wings, and even gnaws holes in different parts of the body. It drinks but little, being always supplied with succulent food.

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