OF PARROTS. 



47 



tacus Amazonicus) bred at Rome. We have an 

 interesting and detailed account of various broods 

 of a pair of Blue Maccaws {Psittacus ararund) 

 which bred at Caen, in France, from the pen of 

 M. Lamouroux, Professor of Natural History to 

 that town. These birds, the property of M. 

 Esnault, of Caen, commenced incubation in March, 

 1818, and, up to August, 1822, they had nine- 

 teen broods; and the female had laid, during that 

 period, sixty-two eggs. Of these, twenty-five were 

 productive, and ten only of the young birds died. 

 The others lived, throve remarkably well, and 

 seemed quite naturalized to the climate. 



A cunous fact respecting the hatching of these 

 Parrots was, that they incubated at all seasons, 

 the female laying eggs in the winter, as well as in 

 the summer, and sat on, and brought up the young 

 ones. It was observed, that almost every brood 

 followed in more rapid succession, and that fewer 

 of the young ones were lost. The number of 

 eggs hatched at a time, varied from three to 

 six ; but they have had four productive eggs 

 at a time, which they reared, and brought to 

 perfection. The period the female sat on her eggs, 

 was from twenty to twenty-five days, — depending 

 on the time of the year and state of the atmosphere. 

 The eggs were about the size of those of Pigeons. 

 They were of a pyriform shape, slightly flattened 

 at the broad end. The young ones continued nearly 

 naked, with only a few scattered fibres, till about 

 the fifteenth day, if the season was warm, and till 



