Harlan Jacobson, age 12, of Newman Grove, Neb., for his question:
What kind of a bird is the macaw?
When we stroll through the zoo we grin at the monkeys and stare at the lions. We may shudder a little at the tigers, and if it is permitted we throw a few peanuts to the bears. Finally, we reach the aviary where we ooh and aah at the gaudy birds. Some of the showiest of these captives are the macaws.
The macaw is an outstanding bird in both looks and character. He is a member of the chatty parrot family, though the handsome fellow is more likely to scream at you than to imitate human speech. However, he has all the other splendid qualities of his parrot relatives. He is highly intelligent, always alert and interested in what people and animals around him are doing. Bird authorities assure us that some parrots can solve problems and figure numbers as high as seven.
Some 316 species of the parrot family enjoy their freedom in the world's tropical jungles and semi tropical forests. The small parrots are the wild cousins of our pet budgies and lovebirds. The macaws are New World parrots of the tropical jungles of South and Central America. There are several species, some three feet long and some no bigger than pigeons. In the wild, the male macaw shares his long life with a female, and the devoted pair is always together, flying through the dense foliage, dining on nuts or tending to their youngsters.
The big scarlet macaw reaches a length of three feet. The gaudy plumage of his breast and tail is bright red. Vivid blue patches adorn his back and wings, and his wing coverts are yellow. This handsome fellow is a native of the steamy jungles of Mexico. The hyacinth macaw is brilliant blue. The red and green macaw is plumaged with vivid patches of scarlet, grassy green and eye catching blue. These big beauties are natives of South America.
In the wilds, the macaws nest in hollow trees or cavities in the sides of lofty cliffs. The eggs are white, and both parents take turns at incubating time. Their newly hatched infants are blind, almost naked and quite helpless. The intelligent and affectionate parents feed them on partly digested food, much as pigeons feed their young on so called pigeon milk.
In a zoo, the large macaw as a rule is chained to a post. When free, he tends to spread his powerful wings and fly around his cage. Also, he tends to bite his visitors. By nature he is affectionate and very fond of people. He loves to be petted and fed by hand. But his mighty beak is strong enough to crack open a Brazil nut with ease. It is also strong enough to bite a finger right off the human hand that feeds him.