PARROT. 595 



saw one of them at Mantua, in 1572 ; and he observes, that they 

 were at that time in all the estimation which rarity could give them. 

 Princes gave and received them as the most valuable presents. 



Columbus in his second voyage saw several of them as he touched 

 at Guadaloupe. They are to be met with even on the desert 

 islands ; and they every where constitute the most beautiful orna- 

 ment of those gloomy forests that darken the face of a country 

 abandoned by men. While Anson and his officers were contem- 

 plating the grand scenes displayed by nature in these solitary abodes, 

 a flight of maccaws passed above them ; and, as if to heighten the 

 magnificence of the spectacle, they made several windings through 

 the air, displaying the vivid lustre of their plumage. There are four 

 different species of the maccaw described by naturalists ; the red, 

 the blue, the green, and the black. The characters which dis- 

 tinguish them from the other families of this genus are, first, their 

 size, which is nearly double that of any other species; and next, the 

 length of the tail, which seems beyond even the proportion of their 

 bodies ; and lastly, the naked skin, of a dirty white, that covers their 

 cheeks and the under parts of their head. 



The red and blue maccaw is nearly three feet in length ; the whole 

 body, except the wings, is of a vermilion colour ; the larger feathers 

 of the wing are of a deep blue on the outside ; on the inner, of a 

 brown leather colour : the lesser feathers are of a blue and green, 

 admirably blended together. The greater coverts of the wings are 

 of a golden yellow terminating in green. On the first discovery of 

 America, these birds, as indeed almost every other kind, were so re- 

 markably tame, that they could almost be taken with the hand. 

 The noise of a fowling piece did not much terrify them. This was 

 also the case in the woods of New Zealand, when visited by Captain 

 Cooke, where the birds suffered the approach of man with a kind of 

 confidence and familiarity. The savages, few in number, and badly 

 armed, had scarcely made them feel the dominion of the human 

 race. 



Birds of this species are found over all the southern parts of Ame- 

 rica, and the West Indies. They prefer moist and watery grounds, 

 because in such the palm trees are most frequent, of the fruit of 

 which they are passionately fond. They commonly go in pairs, sel- 

 dom in flocks ; sometimes, however, they assemble in the morning 

 in much greater numbers, when tbey set up a loud and disagreeable 

 chattering, which is heard at a great distance. They cry while oa 



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