492 ALDROVANDINS PARROT. 



two spans from the tip of the bill to the end of the 

 tail: the upper mandible of the bill was greenish- 

 blue with ochre-coloured sides, and marked across 

 the tip by a white bar: the lower mandible was 

 lead-coloured, but yellowish on the middle: the 

 crown of the head was adorned with gold-yellow 

 feathers : the remainder of the plumage was green ; 

 deepest on the back, and lightest on the breast 

 and belly, where it had a cast of yellgw, but the 

 bottoms or bases of the feathers were cinereous : 

 the quill-feathers on their outsides towards the 

 belly were first green, gradually changing to a 

 blueish, amethystine, or rather purplish colour, 

 and the remainder black : the longest of the second- 

 aries were entirely luteous, those about the middle 

 of the wings being on their outsides, towards the 

 belly, first green, then dark red, then again green, 

 and lastly, at the tips, partly violaceous, and partly 

 black: the tail consisted of twelve feathers, of 

 which the four lateral ones on each side were at 

 ' their origin or base green on the outside, luteous 

 on the inside, then red, and then again green with 

 yellow tips: the remaining four, or middle fea- 

 thers, were entirely green, but somewhat yellowish 

 at the ends : the feet were lead-coloured, with two 

 toes before and two behind, as in Woodpeckers, 

 the inner toes being considerably shorter than the 

 outer : the claws were crooked, as in birds of prey ; 

 the legs very short, measuring only an inch from 

 the knees to the feet, but of considerable thickness. 



It is probable that the above-described bird was 

 in reality no other than a large yellow-headed 



