'"^l.^M% 



THE RED AND BLUE MACCAW. 



Macrocercus Macao. Vieill. 



Even among the splendid family of the Parrots, the 

 Maccaws claim a preeminent rank for their superior 

 size, and the brilliancy and variety of their colours. 

 They are at once distinguished by the nakedness of 

 their cheeks, which are furnished at the utmost with a 

 few minute lines of scattered hairs or feathers ; by the 

 great length and deep curvature of their upper man- 

 dible, and the extreme brevity of the lower, which latter 

 is generally indented on either side with a notch of 

 greater or less extent corresponding to an elevated tooth 

 in the former ; and by the prolongation and regular 

 graduation of their tail, which is longer than the rest 

 of the body. The elegance of their plumage, the sin- 

 gular gravity of their deportment, their mildness of 

 temper, and docility in captivity, render them peculiar 



