and even fifli*, when kept tame. For the moll.part, make no
neft, breeding like Owls in hollow' trees f . At certain feafons fly
in prodigious troops, but obferved to keep two and two together
notwithftanding J. This genus conlifts of infinite variety, perhaps
not fo much owing to mixture of fpecies. as may be fuppofed,
if S miner at's || remark be true; yet they feem. to run vaftly into
one another, fo as to induce one to think many of them related,
though received from different parts of the wprld. In this, however,
we may be deceived, as they are perpetually carried from
one continent to the other for the fake of fale. This uncertainty
of native place muff prevent our following the otherwife judicious
plan of Buffon, of ranging them according to the places they are
fuppofed to inhabit,, and we fhall therefore merely divide them-
into thofe with uneven, and thofe with even tails, much after: the
* Dr. Forßer, {peaking of tfie effeft of a poifonous fifh, obferves, that a little-
favourite Parrakeet died in confequence of eating a bit of it. See Obferv. p. 209*.
607. and Voy. vol. ii. p. 238.— As to flefli, moft tame ones will eat it when
drefled j but Sloane fays» a great Maccaw “ fed.on raw fießi-chiefly, but would
eat other things Hkewife-” Hiß. Jam. vol. ii. p. 296.
■J* Fermin fays, that fome of the larger forts make nefts by gathering a quantity
of rufhes and fmall twigs, which they weave together, and faßen to the extreme
branches of the higheft trees. Dejcrip. de Surinam, vol. ii. p. 177.
t Fermin obferves, that at Surinam, about the time of coffee-gathering, they
are feen by thoufands, of which above an hundred were killed in an hour, and
the tongues of them cooked up into a difh, which was thought favoury. Defer ip.
de Surinam, vol. ii. p. 177.
Ii He obferves, that notwithftanding Parrots of the fame -fpecies ar6 found at
great diftances from each other on the continent, yet in the iflands each maintains
a fpecies which is peculiar to that alone, and not to others of the fame group>
though the diflance from one to the other be however fmall. Sonn. Voy. p. 74.
manner
manner of himueus% giving the belt account poffible of each, confident
with our intended concifenefs.
» W i th U N E V E N T A I L S .
Pfittacus macao, Lin. Syft. i. p. 139. N° 1.
.. . —----------- Scop. Ann. i. p.^26.
Ara du B refil, Brif. orn. iv. 184. t. 19. f. I.
L ’Ara rouge, Buf! oif. vi. p. 179.— PL enl. 12.
Pfitt. max. alter, Aldronj. vid. Raii Syn. p. 29. N° 2.
Maccaw, Albin. i. pi. 11.— Will, orn. p. 73.
A ta premier, Fermin. Defcrip.de'Surinam, ii. p. 173*
Red and blue Maccaw, Ednv. t. 158.
». 11«- - . . ■ ----Bancroft Guian. p. 156.
I. 4- RED AND
BLUE
MACCAW.
r t^ H E length of this bird is two feet feven inches and a half: D e s c r i p t io n .
the fize that of a Capon. The upper mandible is white;
the tip, and fides at the bale,' black; the under mandible wholly
black : the cheeks are bare of feathers, being covered with only a
wrinkled Ikin, of a whitilh colour : the irides yellow : the head,
neck, breaft, belly, thighs, and upper part of the back, are of a
fine bright red; the rump of a pale blue: feapulars blue and
green mixed: the two middle tail feathers red, with pale blue
tips; the next on each fide half blue half red; the four outer
ones violet blue above, dull red beneath: the legs are dulky;
claws black. Edwards fays, that tfiis bird, when perfedt, will
meafure a full yard from bill to tail.; :
It inhabits Brafil, Guiana, and other parts of South America. P l a c e .
The bill of this bird is fo ftrong, that it is able, with it, to
break a peach-ftone with great eafe *.
* Orn. dt Salernt, p. 6.