EThomasWood
New member
- Aug 30, 2018
- 2
- 0
Greetings, Everyone--
I don't have a parrot, though some of the posts I see here make me wish I did. I'm an author working on a biography of a U.S. Army general who was in command at the Panama Canal Zone when World War II broke out in 1941.
I'm seeking clarity on a couple of assertions I have seen regarding George, the macaw this general and his staff kept at their quarters:
* "Orders are orders, but no one has ever talked back to Andrews, the story goes, except old George, a red and green Macaw, who customarily perched upon the general’s shoulder during meals in Panama and cursed him while he ate." (E.T. Baker III, "Flying Chief of Yanks in Europe Started Army Career on a Horse." Baltimore Sun, February 21, 1943) (cartoon here: http://www.the-wood-family.org/Macaw_cartoon.pdf)
* At Albrook Field, quarters were at the end of the runway. P-40's would roar over the house on takeoff, "and the macaw thought: I can outdo that. He would cut loose with the most god-awful screeches you've ever heard." (Interview with general's daughter)
1) Would a macaw habitually cuss at its owner? If so, would it happen because some previous owner had trained it to do so? I understand they have long life-spans.
2) Would a macaw imitate aircraft engines that were roaring overhead?
I'll be grateful for any wisdom available here.
Thanks,
Tom
I don't have a parrot, though some of the posts I see here make me wish I did. I'm an author working on a biography of a U.S. Army general who was in command at the Panama Canal Zone when World War II broke out in 1941.
I'm seeking clarity on a couple of assertions I have seen regarding George, the macaw this general and his staff kept at their quarters:
* "Orders are orders, but no one has ever talked back to Andrews, the story goes, except old George, a red and green Macaw, who customarily perched upon the general’s shoulder during meals in Panama and cursed him while he ate." (E.T. Baker III, "Flying Chief of Yanks in Europe Started Army Career on a Horse." Baltimore Sun, February 21, 1943) (cartoon here: http://www.the-wood-family.org/Macaw_cartoon.pdf)
* At Albrook Field, quarters were at the end of the runway. P-40's would roar over the house on takeoff, "and the macaw thought: I can outdo that. He would cut loose with the most god-awful screeches you've ever heard." (Interview with general's daughter)
1) Would a macaw habitually cuss at its owner? If so, would it happen because some previous owner had trained it to do so? I understand they have long life-spans.
2) Would a macaw imitate aircraft engines that were roaring overhead?
I'll be grateful for any wisdom available here.
Thanks,
Tom
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