Extinct Birds Part 18

(PLATE 12.)

_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 ma.s.s 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_ Pere Bouton, Rel. de l'etab. d. Francais 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).

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

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.

Habitat: One of the West Indian Islands.

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ANODORHYNCHUS PURPURASCENS ROTHSCH.

(PLATE 13.)

_Le gros Perroquet de la Guadaloupe_ Don de Navarette, Rel. Quat. voy.

Christ. p. 425 pl. II (1838).

_Anadorhynchus purpurascens_ Rothsch. Bull. B.O.C. XVI, p. 13 (1905); Proc. IV Orn. Congr., p. 202 (1907).

The original description of this bird says it was entirely deep violet.

Native name _One couli_. No specimen extant. I have placed this species in the genus _Anodorhynchus_ on account of its uniform bluish colour.

Habitat: Guadaloupe.

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AMAZONA VIOLACEUS (GM.)

(PLATE 17.)

_Perroquet de la Guadeloupe_ Du Tertre, Hist. Nat. Antill. II, p. 250, fig. p. 246 (1667).

_Perroquets_ Labat, Voy. aux iles de l'Amer., vol. II p. 214 (1742).