PTEROGLOSSUS WIEDL, snp

Prince Maximilian’s

mM.

Aracari.

Specrerc Cuaract ER.

D : FR “A zs = i ee . A .
Pter. mandibula superior e flavido-alba, culmine per totam longitudinem fascid angusta, margine
Oo ve oO ? oO

tomiorum ad basin mandibulaque enferiore nioris «
es & oo

gee rostro toto basi albocincto ; femorihus
veridibus.

k anc ‘oat de c, WI ery slight tj F
Head, neck and throat deep black, with a very slight tinge of rufous on the ear-coverts ; upper
surface, wings and tail deep green; lower part of the beak and rump blood-red ; upper
= ?

tail-coverts green, blotched w; -red ; r sur 1 ‘al
‘ g ; ed with blood red; under surface pale greenish yellow, faintly

stained with blood-red next the black of the throat and with

. a broad band of the same hue
across the middle of the body ; tl

uighs and vent green ; upper mandible creamy white, with

a narrow line of black along the culmen and a conspicuous vertical mark of the same

colour near the base; under mandible black ; both mandibles with a raised ridge of a
. . a
creamy white at the base; orbits very dark blackish grey; irides dark brown; legs
greyish green.

Total length, 18 inches; di//, 4+; wing, 5+; tarl, 62; tarsi, 14.

Pteroglossus Aragari, Prinz Max. Von Wied, Beit. zur Nat. von Bras. iv. Bd. i. Abth.
p- 283.
=—iewea— ted, Sturm’s Edit. of Gould’s Mon. of Ramph., pl.

 

WueEn speaking of the true Pteroglossus Aracari, in the first edition of this work, I remarked that I was at
a loss to determine whether that bird, which is a native of Cayenne and Guiana, be identical with a some-
what similar one from the Brazils, and which, although closely resembling it in colour and size, invariably
possesses characters which at once indicate its country. The variations to which I allude consist in the
examples from Cayenne having the mandibles more attenuated and hooked, the teeth more defined, the black
mark on the culmen much more expanded, and the black of the throat bounded by a line of fine red, which
although traceable in the other is much more obscure; the thighs also are dull olive-green with strong
dashes of reddish brown, so predominant in some specimens as to obscure the green entirely, while in the
Brazilian birds the thighs are wholly green; besides which, I have invariably found the true Aracari to be
of a larger size. Whether these differences are specific, or only to be considered as variations dependent
upon difference of climate and other local circumstances, is a question not easy to determine ; I am inclined,
however, to believe that they constitute two distinct species. The Messrs. Sturm, after pointing out the
differences above alluded to, have given to the Brazilian bird the specific appellation of P. Wiedii, in honour
of His Highness The Prince Maximilian of Wied, a compliment most justly bestowed, since few travellers
have done more to advance ornithology, or taken a greater interest in Natural History generally.

Skins of this bird are frequently found in collections from Bahia and from Rio de ae M. Natterer
killed it at Mattagrossa near Borba, and also received specimens from Mattodentro, the neighbourhood of
Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo. In the stomachs of those he examined were found the remains of insects
and the pips of oranges.

The Prince Maximilian of Wied informs me that its voice consists of two short notes, having the
sound of ‘ Culik ! Culik !””—that, like the Ramphastos Arie?, it inhabits all the great forests of the Brazils
traversed by him, and that it has precisely similar habits. During the breeding season it ons in ce
afterwards it congregates in small flocks, which fly from one tree to another in search of ee thew
flight is performed without much motion of the wings. In the cold season they leave the forests a the
plantations near the coast, become very fat, and are killed in great numbers and eaten by the ce
their flesh forming excellent food. In its native wilds it may be Die a perched on the naked pei nes
of the loftiest trees, and while perched is said to make a flirting Monon of the ee : a
Magpie, Pica caudata. Like the other species of uns family, it 1s se ae "ee ie
teasing the birds of prey that may visit its locality, particularly owls. ne eggs BOs
hollows of trees, and are white and two in number.

The figures are of the natural size.

er

a

%

    
 
   
    
  
   
   
     
  
  
  
    
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 

ans

$2343
| ae ]
bei il

aN

rrr
Mss

oe
Phd

bKOR

EE

Nee nee”

Et et £4

etl et

eee

tS

Et EC Piste ts.

f\

2Lesies

EE

EZ,

TE

|

3

Yom