244 PARROTS. 



and piercing ; and the few words they are occasionally taught to 

 utter are pronounced in a disagreeable tone. Their beak is of 

 enormous size and strength, and their plumage remarkable for 

 gaudy colouring. They perch on the highest part of lofty trees, 

 preferring those that border the forests, and yet seldom show 

 themselves at the extremity of the branches. They are generally 

 seen in pairs, but sometimes in parties of six and eight together. 

 When disturbed they shake themselves, and utter a scream, which 

 is piercing, strong, and disagreeable. They are rarely noticed on 

 the ground, but sometimes climb from branch to branch in quest 

 of the fruits of the forest trees, and also of the palms in which 

 they usually live. Their flight is horizontal and not very elevated. 

 They build their nest in hollow trees, or on large branches near 

 the trunk, and lay two eggs. These birds are distinguished by 

 the enormous size of their bills, of which the upper mandible is 

 so much curved as to describe nearly a semicircle, and also by 

 the naked skin, furnished with only a few scattered and minute 

 feathers, which cover their cheeks. The natives of South Ame- 

 rica give the general name oi Ara, or A rac am, to the macaws, a 

 denomination which is evidently in imitation of their note. 

 The type of this sub-family — 



The Blue and Yellow Macaw {Aj-a ccerulea), figured in the preceding 

 page, is a beautiful bird, the general colour of which is a rich blue above, pass- 

 ing into green on the forehead ; the greater quills and tail are nearly violet 

 above, bright yellow underneath, while the under parts generally are of a rich 

 saffron. Its length is thirty-nine inches, of which the long graduated tail 

 measures twenty-four inches. 



Sub-Family III. 

 THE LORIES. LOKIN.E. 



General Characteristics. — Bill large and slender, with the culmen curved to the 

 tip, which is prolonged and pointed, the lateral margin sometimes sinuated and 

 slightly notched, and the gonys of the lower mandible lengthened and more or less 

 curved and advancing upwards. 



Several small species of parrots which inhabit the Eastern is- 

 lands and Polynesia are commonly called Lories. The charac- 

 ters upon which they are separated from the rest of the family 



