THE AMERICAN SHARP-TAILED PARROTS 1879 



All the macaws of this genus are denizens of the dense forests of 

 tropical America, associating in flocks, and feeding on fruits, seeds, 

 and nuts. Bates compares a flock of the red-and-blue species, feeding on the fruits 

 of a palm tree, to a cluster of flaunting banners suspended beneath its crown. 

 When on the wing, such flocks make the air resound with their loud harsh screams. 

 In the fruit season, Waterton describes the palms in the neighborhood of the Ma- 

 coushi country as being sometimes absolutely covered with these birds, and states 

 that any number may be killed with the blowpipe and arrows. They all nest in the 

 hollows of trees, which they enlarge according to their requirements. The eggs, 

 usually two, but occasionally three in number, are about the size of those of a hen, 

 but less pointed. Both males and females take their share in the incubation, and 

 there are usually two broods in the year. Not unfrequently the whereabouts of a 

 macaw's nest is betrayed by the protruding tail of the sitting bird. Macaws awake 

 from slumber with the first streaks of dawn, and at once commence their deafening 

 clamor, the whole flock generally repairing to some common meeting place, where 

 they open their wings and warm themselves in the sun's rays. Soon, the flock 

 departs to its feeding ground, which may be either in the forest or among the culti- 

 vated lands. Feeding is continued till about ten o'clock, after which the host 

 repairs to a neighboring stream to drink and bathe. Toward noon the macaws 

 seek the deepest shade of the forest, where they spend the hottest hours of the day, 

 till the declining sun once again calls them forth. Before settling down to roost for 

 the night, the flock, after the manner of rooks, assembles at the meeting place 

 usually some large bare tree. Most of the macaws can be readily tamed, and will 

 live in captivity for long periods. They are, however, but poor talkers, and never 

 give up their pernicious habit of screaming. Moreover, although properly-tamed 

 birds seldom attempt to bite adults, many of them cannot safely be trusted where 

 there are children. 



Next to the macaws, the best-known representatives of this sub- 

 family are the smaller parrots, termed, from the form of the tail, con- 

 ures, most of which are included in the genus Conurus, although our figured 

 example ( C. carolinensis} is the sole representative of the distinct genus Conuropsis. 

 The conures differ from the true macaws by the lore being feathered, and they are 

 further characterized by the rather swollen form of the beak, which is not in the 

 least degree compressed, while the lower mandible is broad and not grooved. In 

 the typical conures, or those included in the genus Conurus, the fourth primary 

 feather of the wing is attenuated, and the nostrils are exposed, whereas in the Car- 

 olina conure {Conuropsis} the corresponding feather is not narrowed, and the nos- 

 trils are concealed among the feathers covering the cere. Various shades of green, 

 yellow, and orange may be described as the prevalent colors of the conures, 

 although there is frequently more or less blue on the quills of the wings, while 

 there may be red on the head and breast; the under parts are, however, never blue. 

 In the Carolina conure, which measures twelve and one-half inches in length, the 

 general color is green, becoming yellowish on the under parts, while the forehead 

 and cheeks are orange red, and the rest of the head and neck bright yellow. Spots 

 of orange red with patches of yellow adorn the shoulders, and the outer webs of the 



