et and blue in size,--their
habits being very similar. They are easily tamed, and can be taught to
repeat words, and sometimes even phrases. They are remarkable for their
longevity, some having been known to live to one hundred years.

The magnificent great green macaw is noted for his depredations on the
maize-fields; but, being a sagacious bird, he always places a sentinel
to give the alarm to his marauding associates when danger approaches.

PARROTS.

Parrots much inferior in size and less richly decked fly amid the
foliage in vast numbers. The two most common species are the Amazon
green parrot and the festive green parrot.

Of the former (Psittacus Amazonius) there are several varieties. They
have their homes in the midst of the impenetrable forests. The female
lays four white eggs in the hollow of a tree. The usual length is about
fourteen inches. The bills vary in colour; the plumage is of a bright
green, with the feathers marked by dusky or blackish margins. On the
top or edges of the shoulders there is a brilliant scarlet patch,
bounded by shades of blue, green, and yellow. A bright blue band
reaches from eye to eye, beyond which the feathers of the crown, cheeks,
and throat are of a rich yellow.

The Brazilian green parrot is a large and beautiful bird, of a fine
grass-green, rather paler beneath the feathers, edged with
purplish-brown. The front and round the base of the bill is bright red,
the cheeks rather deep blue, and the top of the head yellow. The edge
of the wings, at some distance from the shoulders, is red. The tail is
especially handsome, the outside feathers being deep blue, tipped with
yellow; the next red, with a similar yellow tip; and all the remaining
ones green, with yellow tips. The bill is of a light colour, and the
legs and feet dark. It is the species most ordinarily brought to
England, and is valued on account of its powers of imitation--
individuals having been taught not only words, but whole sentences.

ANACA PARROT.

One among the most rare of the beautiful parrot family is the anaca
(Derotypus coronatus). It is of a green colour, and at the back of its
head rises a hood of red feathers bordered with blue, which it can
elevate or depress at pleasure. It is the only American parrot which
resembles the cockatoo of Australia. It is of a solemn, morose, and
irritable disposition. The natives often keep the bird in the house for
the purpose of seeing the irascib