Fig. 184.—The Ara Macaw (Macrocercus (Sw.) ararauna, from Brazilian name).
These birds are more or less susceptible of education. Some, naturally peaceable, are easily tamed; others, more refractory, submit to captivity unwillingly. In general, when they are taken young they attach themselves strongly to those who have care of them.
Parrots have a mania for using their beaks upon everything that comes in their way. When encaged against their will they utter loud cries, and sometimes turn their fury upon the bars of their prison. They have been known to pluck and even tear themselves in these paroxysms. Supplying them with a plaything is the only means of keeping them quiet under such circumstances.
These Climbers are endowed with remarkable longevity. The "Memorandums of the Academy of Sciences of Paris" mention a Parrot that lived in the family of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in Florence, more than a hundred and ten years. Vieillot speaks of having seen one near Bordeaux which was eighty-four years of age. The average length of their life cannot, however, be exactly ascertained.
Fig. 185.—Ringed Parrakeet (Palæornis torquatus, Vig.
Parrots rarely breed in Europe; it is true they often lay, but the eggs are sterile. A few instances have been known in France where, under favourable circumstances, they have perpetuated their species. Generally all that we see in our temperate regions are brought from countries where the majority have been taken from the nest. Different means are employed to capture the adults, all of which have for their aim to stun them for an instant, in order to paralyse their movements.
The family of Parrots comprises four principal groups—the Macaws, Parrakeets, Parrots properly speaking, and Cockatoos.
Fig. 186.—Love-birds (Psittacula taranta, Gould).