1878 



THE PARROT TRIBE 



True Macaws 



HEAD OF MACAW. 



Spix's macaw ( Cyanopsittacu s zpixi) , which, although agreeing with the ararauna 

 in its blue coloration, differs by the naked lore, on which account it is regarded as 

 representing a distinct genus. 



The true macaws differ from the preceding in the absence of blue on 

 un( ^ er p art o f ^ e body, and also by the completeness of the bony 



ring in the skull round the eye. In 

 all of them the lores, as well as a 

 larger or smaller area of the cheeks, 

 are devoid of feathers. The range 

 of these splendid birds, which are 

 locally known as araras, extends from 

 Mexico to Bolivia and Paraguay, cer- 

 tain species ranging in the Andes to 

 elevations of some ten thousand feet 

 above the sea. 



Of the fourteen recognized spe- 

 cies, a few of the better known will 

 alone be mentioned. Among these the 

 rcd-and-blue macaw (Ara macao}, 

 represented on the right side of our 



colored plate, is one of the handsomest. In this species the general color of both 

 the upper and under parts is vermilion red, while the upper wing coverts are chrome 

 yellow, the lower part of the back, the rump, upper and lower tail coverts, together 

 with the quills of the wings being blue. The tail feathers are scarlet, with more or 

 less blue at their tips (except in the central pair) and on their outer edges, the outer- 

 most being almost wholly blue. Beneath, both the tail and wing feathers are golden 

 red, while the greater and upper median wing coverts, as well as the scapulars, are 

 yellow tipped with green. In size this splendid bird attains a total length of three 

 feet, nearly two of which are taken up by the tail. Its range is large, extending 

 from Mexico to Guiana and the Amazon valley. In marked contrast to the above, 

 is the coloration of the blue and yellow macaw {A. ararauna), depicted at the top 

 of our plate. In this bird while the upper surface of the body, wings, and tail is 

 blue, almost the whole of the under parts are yellow, while the throat is marked by 

 a broad black gorget. The crown of the head is grass green, and the contrast of 

 the light blue of the feathers of the back with the dark blue of the quills of the 

 wings is very pleasing. This species, which is smaller than the last, is also widely 

 distributed in tropical America, ranging from Panama to the Amazon valley. A 

 third type of coloration is presented by the still smaller military macaw {A. mili- 

 taris), in which, as in the majority of the species, the prevalent tint is green. The 

 forehead is, however, scarlet, while the lower part of the back, the rump, and the 

 upper tail coverts are light blue. Blue also appears on the quills of the wings, as 

 well as on the primary and outermost greater wing coverts; while in the tail the four 

 middle feathers are brownish red tipped with blue above, and the outer ones largely 

 blue. The length of this species is only twenty-seven inches, and its range extends 

 from Mexico to Peru and Bolivia. 



