Psittacus Ararauna, LINNÆUS; L'Ara Bleu; Der Blaue Aras,
BECHSTEIN.
This species, which is about the size of the former, appears to me much
more beautiful, though the colours of its plumage are not so striking.
Its beak is black, the feet dark grey; the cheeks flesh-coloured,
streaked in the form of an S, with lines of short black feathers. The
iris is light yellow; the throat ornamented with a black collar; the
forehead, to the top of the head, the sides, and small wing-coverts are
of a dark green; the rest of the upper part of the body is of a fine
blue; all the colours are apt to vary.
HABITATION.--Being, like the preceding one, a native of Surinam,
Guiana, and Brazil, its way of living and qualities are much the
same. It does not, however, learn to speak so easily, and cannot
pronounce the word _maccaw_ so distinctly; but it imitates perfectly
the bleating of sheep, the mewing of cats, and the barking of dogs.
Its custom of only drinking in the evening seems extraordinary.