ARA. 567 
Ara militaris, G. R. Gray ; Salv. Ibis, 1871, p. 88 (partim)°; Lawr. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 4, 
p. 35"; Sumichrast, La Nat. v. p. 338"; Salvad. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xx. p. 158"; Jouy, 
Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. xvi. p. 786. 
Sittace militaris, Finsch, Abh. naturw. Ver. Bremen, 1870, p. 352"; Lawr. Mem. Bost. Soc. N. H. 
ii. p. 295%, 
Olivaceo-viridis, dorso postico et tectricibus supracaudalibus ceruleis, pileo et nucha viridibus, fronte et loris 
coccineis, tectricibus alarum majoribus et remigibus ceruleis; cauda medialiter saturate coccinea, basi et 
apice cerula, rectricibus lateralibus plerumque ceruleis, omnibus subtus olivaceis; rostro corneo ; capitis 
lateribus nudis, carneis, plumulis ante oculos rubris, infra oculos nigris notatis. Long. tota circa 27°0, 
ale 15-0, caude rectr. med. 15-0, rectr. lat. 7°5, rostri culminis 2°8, tarsi 1-0. (Descr. maris ex San 
Blas, W. Mexico. Mus. nostr.) 
Hab. Mexico ® (Deppe®, le Strange®), Mazatlan (Grayson 4 15), Presidio de Mazatlan 
(Forrer), Quiriego in Sonora (Lloyd), San Blas (W. B. Richardson), Guanajuato 
(Dugés®), Culata in Colima (Lloyd), Acapulco (Grayson 5), Huamelula near 
Zapotlan (Sumichrast “), Rio de la Armeria (Xantus'), Barranca de Beltran, 
Agosta (Jouy !8), 'Temiscaltepec (Bullock °), Sierra Madre de Tamaulipas (W. B. 
Richardson).—CoLomBi4; Peru; Botivia. 
This is the smaller of the two Green Macaws found in our region, and its range is 
chiefly restricted to Western Mexico from the State of Guerrero to that of Sinaloa. It 
is also found on the eastern side of the cordillera, as Mr. Richardson sent us a 
specimen from the Sierras of the State of Tamaulipas. It is said to occur in the 
mountains to the north of Tehuantepec ® and also in Guatemala, but we have no 
specimens to confirm either statement, and the correctness of the latter we hesitate 
to accept. 
Grayson’s account of this species is very complete, and the following notes give 
the substance of his remarks. Ara militaris inhabits the belt of land called the tierra 
caliente of Western Mexico lying between the sea-coast and the base of the cordillera, 
and in this district it moves from one locality to another as food upon which it subsists 
comes into season. It is sometimes found as high as 3000 or 4000 feet above the sea 
in the mountains, attracted there from the lowlands by suitable food. It may be 
seen at all seasons near the sea-coast from Mazatlan to Acapulco, but is especially 
numerous about the Rio Mazatlan, the great forest of that district affording it 
subsistence in abundance. 
“ Guacamayo”’ is the native name for all the Macaws both in Mexico and Guatemala, 
and the “ Guacamayo” of Western Mexico is said to descend to the ground only during 
the month of May in search of a certain hard nut which is then shed from the trees 
which bear them. This nut is the fruit of a tree called “Ava” by the Mexicans, a 
species of “ Nux vomica,” the milky sap of which as well as the fruit being a deadly 
poison to most animals, but not to the Ara. ‘This tree grows to a large size on the banks 
of rivers or over rich alluvial valleys. The pod which contains the fruit is spherical 
and about twelve inches in circumference, divided into sixteen sections, in each of which 
