Part 29

Ara militaris Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. 261 (1847).

Ara erythrocephala Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 201 (1907).

Gosse says the description given to him in a letter, just received from Mr. Hill, was as follows:--"Head red; neck, shoulders, and underparts of a light and lively green; the greater wing coverts and quills, blue; and the tail scarlet and blue on the upper surface, with the under plumage, both of wings and tail, a mass of intense orange yellow."

"The specimen here described was procured in the mountains of Trelawny and St. Anne's by Mr. White, proprietor of the Oxford estate." No specimen now known.

Habitat: Jamaica.

Mr. Gosse also relates that the Rev. Mr. Coward, in 1842, saw two large Macaws flying near the foot of the mountains in the parish of St. James, near the centre of the island. These birds were said to have been blue and yellow; if so, probably they were my Ara erythrura, whose precise island home is unknown.

ARA MARTINICUS (ROTHSCH.)

(PLATE 14.)

Les Aras Père Bouton, Rel. de l'étab. d. Français dep. 1635, en l'ile Martinique pp. 71. 72 (1640).

Anadorhynchus martinicus Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 14 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907).

Père Bouton says, "Les Aras sont deux ou trois fois gros comme les Perroquets et ont un plumage bien différent en couleur. Ceux que j'ai vus avaient les plumes leleucs et orangées."

No specimen preserved.

Habitat: Martinique. {54}

ARA GUADALOUPENSIS CLARK.

Les Arras Du Tertre, Hist. gen. des Antilles Vol. II p. 248 (1667).

Ara Rouge D'Aubenton, Pl. Enl. 12 (1779).

Ara guadaloupensis Clark, Auk, XXII, p. 272 (1905).

Du Tertre gives the following description:--"The Arras is a sort of Parrot bigger than all the others. This is proved because those of Guadaloupe are larger than all the other Parrots, both those from the Islands as well as from the Mainland; while this Arras is larger than these by one third. It has the head, the neck, the belly and the back of the colour of fire; its wings are a mixture of yellow azure, and crimson feathers; while the tail is entirely red and a foot-and-a-half long."

Macaws of this colouration are mentioned by Du Tertre, De Rochefort, and others of the older authors as being found on Guadaloupe, Dominica and Martinique, and Mr. Clark has united them under one name. This I feel sure is wrong, and I believe each of the three islands had a distinct species of Red Macaw, so I confine this name to the Guadaloupe form.

Habitat: Guadaloupe.

No specimen existing.

ARA ERYTHRURA NOM. NOV.

(PLATE 15.)

De Rochefort, Histoire Nat. & Mor. des Iles Antilles, &c. (1658), p. 154, Art. IX (Des Arras).

Anadorhynchus coeruleus (non Gmelin) Rothsch., Bull. B.O.C., XVI, p. 15 (1905).

In the Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 15 (1905), I unfortunately described this bird under the name of Anadorhynchus coeruleus (Gm.), having misread his description, and also said it came from Jamaica. Professor Salvadori, in the Ibis (1906) Series 8, Vol. VI, "Notes on Parrots," p. 451, calls attention to my double error, but failed entirely to realise what bird I really meant. The original description is (translated) as follows:--

"Among them are some which have the head, the upper side of the neck, and the back of a satiny sky blue; the underside of the neck, the belly, and undersurface of the wings, yellow, and the tail entirely red."

No specimen existing.