1 876 



THE PARROT TRIBE 



tails, in which each of the feathers tapers to a point, and the middle pair are longer 

 than any of the others. The bill is strong, almost always deeper than long, and 

 generally devoid of any notch, while its usual color is whitish or pale brown. 

 Except in one genus, the two sexes are alike, and the predominant color of the 

 plumage is usually green, although in some species blue or yellow. The cere, which 

 may be either naked or feathered, surrounds the whole base of the bill like a band, 

 and the nostrils may be either exposed or concealed among the feathers. In the 

 skull the ring round the socket of the eye is generally complete. As there are no 

 less than fifteen genera in the group, only some of the more interesting can be 

 noticed. 



RED- CAPPED PYGMY PARROT. 

 (From Guillemard's Cruise of the " Marchesa.") 



From their large size, the length of their tails, and the gorgeous 

 ya 5! n " tints of blue, red, and yellow adorning their plumage, the macaws are 

 the most showy and conspicuous of all the parrots, but they have the 

 disadvantage of being the most noisy of the whole confraternity, and are therefore 

 far from being desirable in the house. By many writers the whole of them are in- 

 cluded in a single genus, but Count Salvadori considers that they may be divided into 

 three generic groups. The hyacinthine macaw {Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) from 

 Central Brazil, of which a figure is given on the left side of our colored plate, is the 

 best-known representative of a small genus, characterized by the general color of 

 the plumage being blue both above and below, while the lores are feathered. In the 

 figured species the whole plumage is of a nearly uniform cobalt blue, becoming a 

 little lighter on the head and neck, and somewhat duller below, while the under sur- 

 faces of the wings and tail are black. In marked contrast to the prevailing azure, 

 stands out the yellow of the naked skin surrounding the eye and at the base of the 

 lower jaw. The black beak is of unusually large size, even for a macaw, and the 



