AEA. 567 



Ara militaris, G. R. Gray; Salv. Ibis, 1871, p. 88 (partim) »; Lawr. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 4, 

 p. 35 " ; Sumichrast, La Nat. v. p. 338 " ; Salvad. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xx. p. 158 '= ; Jouy, 

 Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. xvi. p. 786 ". 



Sittace militaris, Finsch, Abh. naturw. Ver. Bremen, 1870, p. 352"; Lawr. Mem. Bost Soc N. H 

 ii. p. 295 ". 



Olivaceo-viridis, dorso postioo et tectrioibus supracaudalibus c^ruleis, pileo et nucha viridibus, fronte et loris 

 coccmeis, tectricibus alarum majoribus et remigibus ceeruleis ; cauda raedialiter saturate coccinea, basi et 

 apice cserula, rectrieibus lateralibus plerumque ceeruleis, omnibus subtus oHvaceis; rostro corneo ; capitis 

 lateribus nudis, carnein, plumulis ante oculos rubris, infra oculos nigris notatis. Long, tota cirea 27-0, 

 alee 15-0, oaudse reotr. med. 15-0, rectr. lat. 7'5, rostri culminis 2-8, tarsi 1-0. (Descr. maris ex San 

 Bias, "W. Mexico. Mus. nostr.) 



Hab. Mexico^ {Beppe^, le Strange^), Mazatlan (Gray son ^"^ ^5), Presidio de Mazatlan 

 (Forrer), Quiriego in Sonora (Lloyd), San Bias {W. B. Richardson), Guanajuato 

 (Dug^s% Culata in Colima (i%(Z), Acapulco (Grayson ^% Huamelula near 

 Zapotlan (Sumichrasf ^^), Rio de la Armeria (Xantus i^), Barranca de Beltran, 

 Agosta (Jouy ^% Temiscaltepec (Bullock «), Sierra Madre de Tamaulipas ( W. B. 

 Bichardson). — Colombia; Peru,- Bolivia. 



This is the smaller of the two Green Macaws found in our region, and its range is 

 chiefly restricted to Western Mexico from the State of Guerrero to that of Sinaloa. It 

 is also found on the eastern side of the cordillera, as Mr. Eichardson sent us a 

 specimen from the Sierras of the State of Tamaulipas. It is said to occur in the 

 mountains to the north of Tehuantepec ^ and also in Guatemala, but we have no 

 specimens to confirm either statement, and the correctness of the latter we hesitate 

 to accept. 



Grayson's account ^^ of this species is very complete, and the following notes give 

 the substance of his remarks. Ara militaris inhabits the belt of land called the tierra 

 caliente of Western Mexico lying between the sea-coast and the base of the cordillera, 

 and in this district it moves from one locality to another as food upon which it subsists 

 comes into season. It is sometimes found as high as 3000 or 4000 feet above the sea 

 in the mountains, attracted there from the lowlands by suitable food. It may be 

 seen at all seasons near the sea-coast from Mazatlan to Acapulco, but is especially 

 numerous about the Rio Mazatlan, the great forest of that district afl'ording it 

 subsistence in abundance. 



" Guacamayo " is the native name for all the Macaws both in Mexico and Guatemala, 

 and the " Guacamayo " of Western Mexico is said to descend to the ground only during 

 the month of May in search of a certain hard nut which is then shed from the trees 

 which bear them. This nut is the fruit of a tree called "Ava" by the Mexicans, a 

 species of " Nux vomica," the milky sap of which as well as the fruit being a deadly 

 poison to most animals, but not to the Ara. This tree grows to a large size on the banks 

 of rivers or over rich alluvial valleys. The pod which contains the fruit is spherical 

 and about twelve inches in circumference, divided into sixteen sections, in each of which 



