POTD 08Feb11, originally uploaded by andyskelton-a Blog a day http://andrewskelton.net.
and by the menacing look, if I had had any I would have parted with them straight away.
What most people refer to as parrots are in fact Macaws; okay that’s splitting feather – Macaw’s are part of the parrot family but these intelligent, social and strikingly beautiful birds deserve their own moniker.
Usually perched on make-shift trees at various wild life establishments, we really do not see these birds at their most magnificence. More at home in their native tropical forests such as Brazil or Trinidad, the sight of these large and colourful birds in flight must be a sight to behold. Imagine, if you can, instead of the grey skies and flock of gulls flying overhead, clear blue skies and vivid yellow, oranges and greens of the Macaws as groups of them fly from tree to tree. Imagine that? Nope nor can I!
Pirate and Parrots seem inextricably linked in public folk lore but there is little evidence that this is actually true; it would appear that this myth has some basis on the novel “Treasure Island” where Long John Silver keeps one as a pet. These large birds with impressive claws and an even more impressive bill is one of the last things I’d want sitting on my shoulder. Perhaps that’s why so many fictional pirates often had an eye or a limb missing. Pieces of face, pieces of face.
Andrew Skelton: 
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