2 70 Clark, Lesser Antillean Macaws. Ij"ly 



Buffon (Hist. Nat. Ois., VI, p. 181, 1774) states that Macaws 

 occur in all the warm parts of America, and in the West Indies. 

 He says further (/. c, p. 177): "Christopher Columbus in his 

 second voyage touched at Guadeloupe and found there Macaws, 

 to which he gave the name of ' Guacamayas.' He met with them 

 only in the uninhabited islands, and they were by far the most 

 beautiful ornaments of the gloomy forests which covered the land 

 given up to nature." 



Brisson (Orn., IV, p. 183, 1760) says (under " L'Ara Rouge"), 

 quoting from a letter from M. de la Borde, Medecin du Roi at 

 Cayenne : " In all the islands (Antilles) the Macaws have become 

 very rare, because the inhabitants destroy them for food. They 

 retire into the unfrequented districts, and do not come near the 

 cultivated areas." 



Edwards says (Birds, IV, p. 158, 1751) : "This bird ('The 

 Red and Blue Maccaw ') is a native of America, and, I believe, is 

 found everywhere between the tropics, not only on the continent 

 but on some of the American islands." 



Latham says of the " Red and Blue Maccaw " (Gen. Hist. 

 Birds, II, p. 102, 1822) : " Inhabits Brazil, Guiana, and other parts 

 of South America, and, we believe, some of the islands also, but 

 becomes scarce or wholly eradicated in proportion to the increase 

 of inhabitants." 



From the foregoing we appear to have ample proof that there 

 were Macaws in these islands ; we are told also that they were 

 becoming rare before 1760 (Brisson). That the various members 

 of the parrot tribe are among the first to be exterminated from 

 any given locality, especially if the species be confined to an insu- 

 lar habitat, we learn from the cases of Nestor productas Gould 

 (Philips Island), N. norfolcensis Pelz. (Norfolk Island), Lophopsii- 

 tacus mauritianus (Owen) (Mauritius), Necropsittacus rodericanus 

 (Milne-Edw.) (Rodriguez), Mascarinus mascarinus (Linn.) (Re'un- 

 ion), and Palaornis exsul Newt. (Rodriguez) ; and so, everything 

 considered, I believe we are justified in giving credence to the 

 writings of the three principal authors quoted. That they knew of 

 the different conditions which pertain in the different islands is 

 brought out in their remarks about the parrots being different in 

 the different islands, and also by the account of the Armadillo 



