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PARROTS. 
narrower in the middle line. They are, however, specially distinguished by their 
short and squared tails, in which the pointed extremities of the shafts of the 
feathers project beyond the vanes. When folded, the long wings reach beyond the 
end of the tail; and the claws are remarkably elongated. The males of these 
pigmies are most gorgeous in colour, but their consorts show much more sober 
red-capped pigmy parrot. (From Guilleinard’s Cruise of the Marchesa.) 
tints. Altogether nine species of these parrots are recognised. In the species 
figured on p. Ill (Nasiterna 'pygmcm'), the total length is just over 3 inches, but 
it is rather more in the red-capped species {N. bruijni). 
The American Sharp-Tailed Parrots. 
Subfamily ContjriNjE. 
The pigmy parrots constituting a subfamily by themselves, we come now to a 
second very large subfamily, exclusively confined to the New World, and ranging 
from Carolina to Patagonia. These parrots, which include the well-known macaws 
and the smaller conures, are characterised by their graduated and generally long 
tails, in which each of the feathers tapers to a point, and the middle pair are longer 
than any of the others. The bill is strong, almost always deeper than long, and 
generally devoid of any notch; while its usual colour is whitish or pale brown- 
Except in one genus, the two sexes are alike; and the predominant colour of the 
plumage is usually green, although in some species blue or yellow. The cere, which 
may be either naked or feathered, surrounds the whole base of the bill like a band, 
and the nostrils may be either exposed or concealed among the feathers. In the 
skull the ring round the socket of the eye is generally complete. As there are 
no less than fifteen genera in the group, only some of the more interesting can 
be noticed. 
