171 



the feathers yellowish-green ; lower neck more or less 

 greenish ; feathers of abdomen green towards the black 

 edges ; under tail-coverts greenieh-yellow ; smaller 

 under wing-coverts orange varied with green ; greater 

 coverts ajid bases of inner webs of flights below yellow ; 

 tail below oransie at base, green in the middle, yellow 

 at tip ; beak pale horn-colour ; feet grey. Female with 

 a much broader beak with less arched culmen. Hab., 

 St. Vincent, West Indiee. 



This is one of the most beautiful of the Amazon 

 Parrots, as may be at once seen by a reference to the 

 charming coloured jilate published in The, Avicultural 

 Magazine, Second Series, Vol. II., facing p. 121; it 

 was supposed that the eruptions at St. Vincent com- 

 pletely exterminated the species, and Canon Button 

 ."viys il.c, p. 122) : '■ Xow — everyone who possesses one 

 says, ' Mine is the last of its sijecies.' I know of five ' last 

 of" their species." One in the Zoo, one belonging to a 

 lady, my own, and two in the island of St. Vincent. I 

 had an "opportunity of buying one two or three years 

 ago, but its chriracter was not attractive, and I let it 

 p,iss into the hands of Mr. Jamrach." 



Mr. Cl.-irke. an American, obtained specimens of this 

 bird on St. Vincent in 1904 : therefore we read in Mr. 

 M. J. XichoU's interesting book ("Three Voyages of a 

 Naturalist," p. 140) : " On St. Vincent the fine Parrot 

 — Chnisoiis guUd'nifii — which is found nowhere else in 

 the world, has not get become extinct, and is still found 

 in some numbers on the high peaks." 



This species was first purchased for tbe Regent's Park 

 Gardens in 1874. and .since that date several other speci- 

 miMis have been added to the collection ; I saw one 

 there in 1905 or 1907. It is generally regarded as rather 

 a morose and stupid bird. 



August Amazon {Chrysotis aiir/vsta.) 

 Upper surface mostly green, the feathers edged with 

 blackish ; front edge of wing and speculum crimson ; 

 primaries dark-brown, green at the base of the outer 

 webs ; outer secondaries dull purple, inner ones tipped 

 with dull blue ; tail above dull reddish-brown, vinous 

 ■at tip. the central feathers and base of the lateral ones 

 tinged with green, the outermost feather reddish-brown ; 

 head, neck, breast, and abdomen deep purplish-blue, 

 edged with black, excepting that those of the crown 

 are edged with dark shining green ; feathers of upper 

 breast and vent distinctly purple ; sides, flanks, 

 thighs, and under tail-coverts green, with blackish 

 edges to the feathers and with a more or less blue 

 tinge towards the edges ; smaller under wing-coverts 

 green, tipped with blue ; greater coverts and base of 

 inner webs of flights below dull green ; tail below 

 reddish-brown, shot with green ; upper mandible deep 

 horn-colour, marked on each side of the base with 

 whitish ; under mandible paler : feet blackish-brown. 

 Female perhaps slightly duller in colour, the beak 

 probably differs from that of the male as in the 

 preceding species. Hab., Dominica, West Indies. 



Messrs. G. E. and A. H. ^■errill (Transactions 

 Connecticut Academy VIII., page 315, 1892) say that 

 C. auqustn is said to be common among the mountains 

 on the windward side of the island. " It was mainly 

 to procure these Imperial Parrots, so seldom seen in 

 collections, that onr trip was made to Bass-cn-ville, 

 which is a single house in the primeval forest, and only 

 to be reached by one of the worst trails ever travelled, 

 and we spent a number of months among the Sierra 

 Nevada Mountains. This trip, however, well repaid us 

 - for our trouble, as it was there we took many of our 

 " best birds and other specimens ; but though Parrots 

 were seen nearly every day, and we were accompanied 



by Mr. Hennessey Dupigny and another hunter, our 

 united efforts secured but two of these shy birds in 

 the ten days we were there." 



According to Mr. A. Hyatt- Verrill, o£ Newhaven, 

 U.S.A., this species is now much less common than 

 C. bouqueti, a bird which (on the authority of Jlr. 

 Clark) was supposed to be extinct (cf. The. Ibis., 1907, 

 pp. 365, 367). It was first presented to the Zoological 

 Society in 1865, but it seems to be rarely imported, 

 although Canon Dutton {The Aricultitral Magazine. 

 First Series, Vol. Vlll., pp. 151, 152) describes a 

 specimen in his collection, and speaks of one in the 

 possession of Lady Thompson. He says it is the 

 largest of the Amazons, and apparently it is a good 

 talker. The article is accompanied by an excellent 

 coloured plate. 



ViN.\CEOus Amazon (Chrysotis rinacea). 



Green, the feathers edged with black; long feathers 

 of the hind neck, with a bluish-grey band near the 

 black edges ; upper tail-coverts yellowish-green ; front 

 edge of wing and speculum at base of outer webs of 

 three first secondaries, red ; first primary black, with 

 blue outer web ; the others with the outer webs green 

 towards base, blue towards tip ; tail gradually becom- 

 ing yellowish-green towards tip, and with the lateral 

 feathers bright red at base of inner, and dull deep 

 piu'plish-red at base of outer webs ; frontal band, lores, 

 and chin red ; breast and the abdomen more or less 

 reddish-vinous, tinged with bluish towards the black 

 edges of the feathers ; under tail-coverts yellowish- 

 gi'een ; greater under wing-coverts and part of inner 

 webs of flights towards base verditer-green ; beak red 

 tipped with white ; feet olivaceous-gney ; irides 

 orange. Female smaller, rather duller, the beak less 

 bright in colour, broader, but more compressed from 

 the nostrils forward on each side of the culmen ; the 

 latter more arched. Hab., "South-Eastern Brazil, 

 Paraguay, and N. Argentina " (Salvadori). 



Herr II. von Ihering, in his " Ornithological Notes 

 from South Brazil " {The Ibis, 1901, pp. 13, 14) de- 

 scribes tbe egg of this bird as follows : — "This is an 

 egg of 38 by 30 mm. in dimensions, and of oval fomi. 

 The poles are subequal. the surface is smooth, little 

 polished, and with some scattered deep pores. The 

 nest from which it was taken was a hole situated vei-y 

 high in a colossal murta tree. The level of the nest 

 was at 2 m. below the entrance, and to obtain the 

 eggs it was necessary to make a second opening with 

 an axe." 



In Sclater and Hudson's " Argentine Ornithology," 

 Vol. II., p. 47, we read : — "White gives us the follow- 

 ing notes on its habits : Both in Concepcion and San 

 Javier these Parrots are found in incredible numbers 

 feeding in the orange-groves which cover and enclose 

 the extensive Jesuit ruins in those parts of Misiones. 

 They seem to be very voracious, as they feed all day 

 long, and the inhabitants shoot them for food ; but 

 they ai-e not easily scared, for on hearing a shot they 

 only fly up in clouds to descend again, meanwhile 

 making the air resound with their shrill cries. They 

 can be be taught to talk tolerably well if taken young." 



Russ gives the price of this Amazon in Germany as 

 from 50 to 75 marks when freshly imported ; it is 

 therefore evidently a rare bird in the European market, 

 yet several examples have been exhibited in the London 

 Zoological Gardens. 



Blue-faced Amazon {Chrysotis versicolor.) 

 Green, the feathers conspicuously edged with black, 

 especially on the upper surface ; upper tail-coverts 

 yellowish-green ; front edge of wing also yellowish- 



