Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME IV.
FAMILY XXVIII.--PSITTACINAE. PARROTS.
Bill short, bulging, very strong, deeper than broad, convex above and
below; upper mandible cerate at the base, its outline decurved, the sides
convex, the edges sharp, with an angular process, the tip trigonal, decurved,
elongated, acute; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the tip
thin-edged, rounded, or abrupt. Nostrils basal, round, open, in the cere. Head
very large; neck of moderate length; body compact. Feet short and robust;
tarsus short, scaly; toes stout, the outer directed backwards, the third and
fourth coherent at the base. Claws stout, curved, acute. Plumage generally
blended, but firm. Wings and tail various. Tongue short, fleshy, rounded, or
emarginate; oesophagus wide, with a large crop; stomach small, muscular;
intestine of moderate length; coeca small; cloaca globular.