107 



THE GREAT GREEN MACCAW. 



Macrocercus militaris. 

 PLATE V. 



Sittace militaris, Wagler in A bhand. <Jc.,p. 668. Psittacus 



militaris, Auct L'Ara Militaire, et le Grand Ara Mili- 



taire, Le Vaillant, 1. c. p. 1 1, t. 4, et 1. c. p. 15, t. 6 Great 

 Green Maccaw, Edw. pi. 13. 



IN this beautiful species, the ground or prevailing 

 colour of the plumage becomes more assimilated to 

 that of the great body of the long-tailed division, 

 than some of its congeners, for, with the exception 

 of the forehead, the region of the eyes, the lower 

 back, wings, and tail, the remainder is of a fine and 

 lively green. Edwards, in his valuable work, " The 

 Gleanings of Natural History," seems to have first 

 figured and described this Maccaw, which, though 

 ignorant of at the time, he rightly conjectured to be 

 an American bird. It is now ascertained to be a 

 native of Mexico and Peru, inhabiting the warmer 

 districts of the Andean Chain, and attaining to an 

 elevation of about 3000 feet. According to Wagler, 

 its habits differ considerably from those of its con- 

 geners, as it does not confine itself to the recesses of 



