468 The Cuckoo-like Birds 



Red-and-green Macaw (A. chloroptera), which differs mainly in being of darker 

 red or crimson and in having the middle wing-coverts olive-green instead of 

 yellow; it has much the same range as the last except that it does not extend 

 north of Panama. A majority of the species of the genus have the general 

 color green, one of the best-known of this type being the Green Macaw (^4. mili- 

 taris), which is green throughout except for the presence of a scarlet patch on 

 the forehead and blue on back, rump, wings, and tail. It is smaller than those 

 already mentioned, attaining a length of but twenty-seven inches, and is one of 

 the most northern in distribution, ranging from Mexico to Peru and Bolivia. 

 Although this and several of the others are fairly well known in captivity, but 

 little appears to have been recorded of them in a state of nature, and we are for- 

 tunate in having a full account of this species by Colonel Grayson, from whom 

 we quote. This magnificent species, he tells us, is fairly common in many por- 

 tions of western Mexico, being found only in the belt of land which lies between 

 the seacoast and the Cordilleras, though often extending to a height of three or 

 four thousand feet on the mountains. Here it migrates from one locality to 

 another in quest of food suited to its taste, but never crossing the principal chain 

 to the eastward. "The Guacamayo is so called by the natives from the fact 

 that it never descends to the ground but once during the year, and this is in the 

 month of May. They alight upon the ground at this season of the year in search 

 of a certain kind of hard nut, of which they are very fond, and no longer find 

 in the trees which bear it. The tree of this nut the Mexicans call ' Ava,' a species 

 of Nux Vomica; both the milky sap of the tree as well as the fruit are deadly 

 poison to any other animal but this Parrot. . . . The pod that contains the 

 fruit is spherical, and about twelve inches in circumference, divided into six- 

 teen sections, in each of which is the button-shaped kernel. The shell is 

 exceedingly hard, but the enormous bill and powerful jaws of the Guacamayo 

 enables it to split each one of the sections with apparent ease. It also feeds 

 upon the small cocoanut or nuts of the royal palm, which are also Very hard, 

 but not proof against the strong bill of this Parrot. It feeds to some extent on 

 various species of Acacia beans, together with other kinds of wild fruit, and 

 corn-fields are sometimes visited by it. The Guacamayo is gregarious, except 

 during the breeding season, and continues in pairs throughout the year. When 

 migrating to some distance they pass at a great height, flying in pairs, uttering 

 their discordant and harsh cries. They congregate for many miles around to 

 some chosen spot to roost, which they continue to visit for many months, roosting 

 upon the topmost branches of the tallest trees. They breed in holes of trees, 

 usually in the wild fig, which is the largest tree of these forests, depositing their 

 eggs upon the bare wood; the eggs are white, two in number, and a little less 

 than those of the common hen; their breeding season commences in April, and 

 both male and female perform the duties of incubation." 



Conures. Perhaps most closely related to the Macaws, but approximating 

 only a foot in length and having the lores feathered, are the Conures (Conurus), 

 which are so named from the cuneate or wedge-shaped form of the tail. The 

 prevailing colors of plumage among them are green, yellow, and orange, occa- 



