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NATURAL HISTORY. 



in length. These birds, together with the hoopoes and 

 hornbills, have a habit of throwing their food down their 

 throats with a peculiar jerk of the bill. 



Family II. Psittacidae. 

 MACROCERCUS. (Gr. Ma/cpof, great ; /ccp/cof, tail.) 



Ararauna, the Blue and Yellow Macaw. 



Many naturalists imagine, and with some reason, that the 

 PsittacidsB ought to be formed into an order by themselves. 

 In this family the construction of the bill is very remarkable. 

 As the curved tip of the bill would prevent the bird from 

 opening it wide enough to admit its food, the upper mandible 

 is united to the skull by a kind of hinge joint, of equal 

 strength and flexibility. When climbing among the branches 



