bustled up to one with rather angry intentions. But it is a

pretty little bird. Length about 12 inches, instead of the 14/5 to

which the Yellow-fronted Amazon runs. It is green, with the

edges of the feathers black, under surface lighter green, a

narrow red band on the forehead. The Catalogue says the skin

round the eyes is whitish ; but, if I recoiled! right, these two had

white feathers round the eyes too. There are blue feathers in

the wing. Like so many Amazons, the green tail-feathers have

yellowish tips, and red at the base of the inner web of the side

ones ; the bill is yellowish. The Catalogue says some specimens

have no red at the base of the inner web of the lateral tail-

feathers. Perhaps these are young ones. It seemed to me a

noisy little bird, and certainly not friendly to the general public.


I see that I have missed out Chrysotis amazonicci, which is

rather a large bird, as its length runs to i3'5 inches. The

Catalogue description says : “ Green, under surface paler ; the


feathers of the hind neck edged with blackish. Forehead and

eyebrows blue, vertex pale yellow, cheeks deep yellow, ear

coverts grass green, bill light horn-colour. I leave out a

description of that part of the plumage which is not so striking,

and merely add that what is usually red in the wings of most

Amazons is, in C. amazonicci, orange, whence its English name of

“ the Orange-winged Amazon.”


The only amazonica I had was one that was advertised

for £\, as a very accomplished bird. It came and was quite

tame, but after I had it a fortnight without its ever saying even

“ Polly,” I returned it. I have never seen a talking one, and

the species appear to me less clever than many of the smaller

kinds.


C. albifrons I have not kept, and those specimens I have

seen had nothing particular to recommend them as pets.


C. xantholora I have not kept, but it is the pi-ettiest of the

small Amazons. I have never seen it in a bird-shop, so it is.

hardly worth while describing it.


There remain C. collaria and C. leucocepliala. These two

are probably local varieties of the same species : leucocepliala

being the form found in the Island of Cuba, and collaria in

Jamaica. They are about 13 inches long, and may be all three

known by a white beak ; the feathers being heavily edged with

black, the forehead white, and the cheeks and throat rosy-red..

This bird makes a very friendly little pet. Many of them

learn to speak several words. They were imported in old days

much more frequently than they are now. Whether they have



