them, and have no objection to feed, occasionally at 

 least, upon those animals which full a prey to the 

 casualties of the situation or the climate. These , 

 species often fly very high, and beat as a pasture the 

 summits of entire mountain ridges, discerning with 

 much readiness the body of even a small animal in 

 the deepest fissure or the darkest ravine. For a 

 particular account of the haunts, habits, and economy 

 of the 1 principal species, we must refer to the article 

 EAGLE. 



AQUILARINE^E. A natural order of plants, 

 nearly allied to the Samydece, ChailletiaceaB, and 

 Thymettte, and containing only a few genera and 

 species. The plants included under it are as yet 

 very imperfectly known, and their properties have 

 scarcely been ascertained. 



The essential characters of the order are as fol- 

 lows : Calyx turbinate, coriaceous, five-lobed ; petals, 

 none ; stamens monadelphous, ten fertile, ten sterile ; 

 anthers two-celled, bursting longitudinally ; ovary 

 superior, one-celled ; stigma short and simple ; seed- 

 vessel pear-shaped, two-valved, and one-celled, with 

 the valves bearing the seeds ; seeds solitary, with an 

 arillus or tail. The plants are generally trees with 

 alternate entire leaves, natives of Asia. 



AQUILARINE^ ARACARI. 180 



size, handsome form, rich colours and graceful de- 

 portment, render them favourites in spite of their 



AQUILARIA MALACCENSIS. a, Flower; b, the same opened to 

 show the irtiycostoma : c, the phycostoma and stamens j d, sec- 

 tion of the fruit and persistent calyx. 



From the inner part of the trunk of the Aquilaria 

 Malaccensis is, or ovata, and the Aquilaria agalloch, 

 there is obtained a fragrant resinous substance called 

 aloes-wood, or calumbac, the bois cFaigle of Sonnerat. 

 This substance has a strong aroma, is employed as a 

 cordial, and has been used in gout and rheumatism. 

 The Cochin Chinese are said to manufacture a kind 

 of paper from the bark of these trees. 



ARA maccaw. A genus, or perhaps rather a 

 sub-genus, of Zygodactylic, or yoke-footed birds, be- 

 longing to the great natural family of the parrots and 

 analogous genera ; and in the gracefulness of their 

 forms and the richness of their colours among the 

 most beautiful of these very showy birds. Their prin- 

 cipal distinguishing characters are, the cheeks naked 

 of feathers, and the tail very long. Their attitude is 

 graceful, and the colours of their plumage and also of 

 the metallic reflections, are intensely bright. They 

 have nearly the same complication and muscular fur- 

 nishing at the bronchial end of the windpipe (the real 

 organ of voice in birds) which belong to the rest of 

 the family, but their natural voice is remarkably harsh 

 and croaking, and they are far from sparing in the 

 exercise of it. The word Ara, which is their name, 

 they articulate naturally ; and they can be taught to 

 articulate other words, though not so easily as the 

 parrots. Screeching is their favourite sound, in the 

 exercise of which they occupy a considerable portion 

 of their time ; in other respects they are more sedate, 

 less given to mischief, and do not so habitually tear 

 things to pieces as the parrots ; while their large 



They are all inhabitants of the warmer parts of 

 America ; and like the rest of the family seek their 

 food and spend most of their time upon trees, in the 

 holes of which the majority of them nestle, and some 

 are said to excavate decaying trunks like the wood- 

 peckers, though one species at least is mentioned as 

 burrowing in the elevated banks of rivers and streams. 

 Their food is the seeds of large forest trees, rather 

 than the succulent pericarps of fruit, whether wild or 

 cultivated ; but they attack with great avidity the 

 smaller cultivated fruits, such as coffee. They are 

 not so social as most others of the family ; being 

 found in pairs, or at most two or three pairs together, 

 more in juxta position than in society. The pairs are 

 however, much attached to each other, and are said 

 to divide the labours of nest-making and incubation 

 pretty equally between them. They climb with great 

 readiness, using both feet and beak, as is the habit 

 with the whole family. On the ground they ha've 

 very little command of themselves ; for besides the 

 general awkwardness of zygodactylic feet in walking, 

 they seem encumbered by their long tails. When 

 they can take wing from a height, however, they have 

 considerable command of themselves in the air. For 

 an account of the species see MACCAW. 



ARACARI Pteroglossus. A genus of Zygodac- 

 tylic, or yoke-toed climbing birds, nearly allied to the 

 Toucans, and sometimes regarded as forming only a 

 section of that singular genus. See TOUCAN. There 

 are, however, sufficient distinguishing characters to 

 entitle the aracari to the distinction of being a sepa- 

 rate genus. The feet are nearly the same, short, 

 rather slender, with the toes grasping two against 

 two, and therefore well adapted for climbing. The 

 wings of moderate length, or rather short, and not 

 fitted for long flight. The tail long, formed like that 

 of the magpie, with the middle feathers much longer 

 than the rest ; and, as in the magpie, susceptible of 

 extensive and rapid motion, so as to balance the bird 

 when it shifts into various positions while clinging to 

 a branch. The bill, however, is the grand means of 

 distinction between these birds and the true toucans. 

 The true toucans have the bill invariably thicker 

 than the head, of great length, thin and transparent 



