70. Reading Skills Comprehension: The Macaws Of Peru

THE MACAWS OF PERU

Read the following passage carefully and answer the following Questions:-

(1) The macaw is the most colourful bird of the world’s three hundred and forty parrot species. It’s exotically coloured plumage mesmerizes collectors the world over. Native to the Americas, macaws inhabit the tropical rainforests stretching from Central Mexico to Northern Argentina. They especially flourish in the rainforests of South Eastern Peru, bordering the Amazon basin.

(2) Each morning, the clay cliffs at Peru’s Tambopata River are besieged with a riot of colours. With such an abundant supply of food at their disposal, it is indeed peculiar that the macaws eat the clay! The clay probably fortifies them with salts and minerals, deficient in their largely vegetarian diet. Some of the seeds that the macaws devour contain toxic compounds and the clay, acting as a detoxifying agent, counters any ill effects.

(3) Hunting and intense development projects, causing deforestation and pollution have seen the Latin American macaws dwindle in numbers. The remote and impenetrable jungles have protected the Peruvian macaws; they are vulnerable to certain pressures. The macaws have low reproduction rates due to a shortage of ideal nests in the cavities of trees. Of the few macaws born, a few survive into adulthood. This is because macaw parents feed older nestlings first, causing the younger siblings to die from undernourishment. Scientists have solved the housing problem by building artificial nests using durable plastic pipes called PVC. The exterior of the pipes is scrubbed with a steel brush to simulate the texture of the tree trunks.

(4) The Peruvian government has curtailed poaching by outlawing the exports of its tropical birds, and by establishing reserves like the Manu National Park. This wildlife haven is a sanctuary to a plethora of animals and plants. In such havens, the macaws will undoubtedly thrive.

Answer the following questions briefly:

(i)Which species does the Macaw belong to?

(ii) Which areas do the Macaws inhabit?

(iii) What is peculiar about Macaws’ eating habits?

(iv) How does eating clay help Macaws?

(v) What is the reason of low reproduction rate of Macaws?

(vi) Why are Macaws dwindling in number?

(vii) Pick out a word from the fourth paragraph that means “reduced or limited”.

(viii) How have scientists solved the housing problem?