1 14 RED AND BLUE MACCAW. 



and abdomen, are vermilion -red. The middle wing- 

 coverts are bright yellow, tipped with bluiah-green. 

 The spurious wing, the secondaries, and greater 

 quills, are of a deep azure-blue ; the lower back, 

 rump, upper and under tail-coverts, are pale azure 

 and ultramarine blue. The four intermediate or 

 longest tail feathers are deep vermilion-red, the next 

 feather on each side is red and blue, the remainder 

 are wholly blue. The under surface of all the tail- 

 feathers is deep red. The irides are primrose-yel- 

 low; the legs and feet are blackish -grey, the scales 

 are divided or marked by mealy white lines. It is 

 a species apparently widely distributed throughout 

 the intertropical parts of America, being found in 

 Guiana, Surinam, and parts of Mexico. Its ha- 

 bits resemble those of the Blue and Yellow Maccaw, 

 being found in similar situations, and feeding upon 

 the Palmettoes or Borassi which abound in the over- 

 flowed savannahs of South America. They build 

 in the holes of decayed trees, enlarging them when 

 too narrow, and line the interior with feathers. They 

 hatch, as do most of the tropical species, twice in 

 the year, laying each time two spotted eggs, which 

 are incubated alternately by both sexes. 'The great 

 size, and gorgeous plumage of this bird, places it 

 among the most imposing of its race ; and in avi- 

 aries, or living collections of the Psittacidce, it forms 

 a prominent and striking feature. It is, however, 

 only in such situations as the Zoological Gardens, 

 that we can admire and contemplate its beauty with 



