No. 129 of 248 · The Natural History Series

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Pictures by Edward Lear

Edward Lear's blue-and-yellow macaw leans from a pale branch, all bright blue wings and golden breast, from his 1832 book of parrots. Lear drew these birds from living parrots in London when he was only nineteen, years before he became famous for his nonsense verse. For anyone who loves birds, colour and a bit of natural history.

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On the back

From the great natural-history books of the 1700s to the 1900s / Blue-and-Yellow Macaw / Ara ararauna / One of the largest parrots, nearly three feet from head to tail. It cracks palm nuts with its powerful beak and can live for more than fifty years. / Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots, 1832 / Edward Lear drew these parrots from living birds in London when he was nineteen, long before his nonsense verse.

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