Apnea eat acta on Ray iY y sara ae > ho > RR csnsrt ones een OEP Dae es aa meet Bie a aie Tai ary? al CEIEIE Geter t eee fepraririrtnarir ih roM eee CaP ee PiRiP aE TE EE IEEE TD TO TET CCT TEC TET TEE MONOGRAPH THE RAMPHASTID &, FAMILY OF TOUCANS. BY JOHN GOULD, F.LS. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 20, BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE. 1834. OF LEYDEN, PROFESSOR TEMMINCK, IN TESTIMONY OF THE HIGHEST ESTEEM FOR HIS VALUED AND EXTENSIVE LABOURS IN THE FIELD OF NATURAL SCIENCE, THIS MONOGRAPH OF THE RAMPHASTIDA IS DEDICATED, WITH SENTIMENTS OF THE UTMOST RESPECT, BY HIS OBLIGED FRIEND, JOHN GOULD. HIS MOST GRACIOUS ALEXANDER, E., Esq. Sussex-place, Regent’s Park. Allis, Mr. Thomas. York. Amsinck, Mons. J. Hamburg. Angell, A., Esq. Terrace, Tower. Aytaria and Fontaine, Messrs. Mannheim.—5 Copies. Aylesford, The Right Honourable the Earl of. Packington Hall, Co- ventry, Sc. Baker, T. B. L., Esq., F.G.S., &c. Hardwicke Court, Gloucestershire. Beach, M. H. H., Esq. Williamstrip Park, Fairford, Gloucestershire. Bedford, His Grace the Duke of, F.A.S., F.L.S., &c. &c. Belgrave- square Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, Sc. Beilby, Knott, and Beilby, Messrs. Bell, J., Esq. Thirsk, Yorkshire. Bell, T., Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. Berlin, The Royal Library of. Bickersteth, R., Esq. Lzverpool. Birch, W., Esq. Botfield, B., Esq. Birmingham. Brandling, the Rev. R. H. Gosforth House, Northumberland. Broderip, W. J., Esq., B.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. Gray s-inn. Bromley, W., Esq., F.H.S. Stamford-grove, Stamford-hill, Middlesex. Buccleuch, His Grace the Duke of. Dalkeith, §c. Burrough, Sir James. Laverstock House, Wiltshire. Cabbell, B. B., Esq., F.S.A., F.H.S., &c. Brick-court, Temple. Calthorpe, the Rt. Hon. Lord, F.H.S. Ampton Park, Bury St. Ed- mund s, Suffolk. Cambridge University, The. Carr, , Esq. Blackburn, Lancashire. Cawdor, the Rt. Hon. Earl, F.R.S., F.H.S., F.G.S., Trust. Brit. Mus., &c. South Audley-street, and Stackpole Court, Pembrokeshire. Cheetham Old Library, The. Manchester. Clarke, W. S., Esq. St. John’s Cottage, Walling ford, Berks. Clitherow, Colonel. Boston House, Brentford. Cock, S., Esq. London Dock House. Collingwood, H. J. W., Esq. Lilburn Tower, Northumberland. Currer, Miss. Gargrave, Skipton, Yorkshire. Currie and Bowman, Messrs. Dehany, W., Esq. Devonshire-place, Portland-place. De la Chaumette, H., Esq. Dixon, Dixon, Esq. Long Benton, Northumberland. Egerton, Sir Philip de Malpas Grey, Bart., F.R.S., &c. Tarporley, Cheshire. Erskine, A., Esq., F.L.S., F.H.S., &c. Bryanston-square, and Bell Hall, Forfarshire. Eyton, T. C., Esq. Zyton, Wellington, Shropshire. Ferrand, Walker, Esq. Harden Grange, Bingley, Yorkshire. Finch, Lieut.-Col. the Hon. J. Wigmore-street. Forde, Col. M. Seaforde, Clough, Ireland. France, the Royal Institute of. Gage, the Rt. Hon. Viscount, M.A., M.R.I. Firle Place, Sussex, Sc. Gibson, Jabez, Esq. Saffron Walden, Essex. Glynne, Sir Stephen, Bart. Hawarden Castle, Flintshire. Goodall, the Rev. Joseph, D.D., F.A.S., F.L.S., F.H.S., Proy. Eton Coll., &c. Eton, Bucks. Gray, G. R., Esq. British Museum, and Hampstead. River Terrace, Islington. Birmingham.—2 Copies. New Broad-street. Manchester. Raymond-buildings, Newcastle-upon- Tyne, Oulton Park, Greenaway, E., Esq. J Hardwicke, Major-Gen. Thomas, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.R.A.S., &c. The Lodge, South Lambeth. Haslam, S. H., Esq. Chesham, Bury, Lancashire. Hatchett, C., Esq., F.R.S.L.& E., F.S.A., F.LS., &c. Bellevue House, Chelsea, and Bullington, Lincolnshire. Havel, Mr. R. Oszford-street. Hering, Mr. Newman-street. Heysham, T. C., Esq. Carlisle. Hill, Sir Rowland, Bart.. M.P. Hawkstone, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. MAJESTY THE KING. Hoffmann, J., Esq. Holme, Dr. Manchester. Holmesdale, the Rt. Hon. Viscount, M.P. Montreal, Kent. Howard, Col. the Hon. F.G., M.P., F.R.S., F.A.S., &c. Park, Epsom, Surrey, §c. Hullmandel, C., Esq. Great Marlborough-street. Jardine, Sir William, Bart., F.R.S.E., F.L.S. &c. Hanover-terrace, Regent's Park. Ashtead Jardine Hail, Dumfriesshire. Legh, G. Cornwall, Esq. High Legh, Knutsford, Cheshire. Berlin. Linnean Society of London, The. Lomax, J., Esq. Clayton Hail, Lancashire. Milton, the Rt. Hon. Viscount. Lichtenstein, Professor. Grosvenor-square ; Milton, North- amptonshire, &c. Moore, Dr. Maddoz-street. Moore, W., Esq. Northumberland, Her Grace the Duchess of. Grimeshill, Kirby Lonsdale, Westmoreland. Alnwick Castle, North- umberland, &c. Oliveira, General Joaquim. Gloucester-place, Portman-square. Ord, J. P., Esq. Edge Hill, Derby. Ouseley, the Rt. Hon. Sir Gore, Bart., F.R.S., F.S.A., &c. Hatfield, Herts. Parbury, Allen, and Co., Messrs. Pennant, G. H. D., Esq., F.H.S. Prickett, R., Esq., M.R.I. Octon Lodge, Sledmere, Yorkshire. Ratcliffe Library, The. Ozford. tead, W. H. Rudston, Esq., F.Z.S. Frickley Hall, Doncaster. Reeves, John, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. Clapham Old Town. Richter, A. and Co. Soho-square.—2 Copies. Rivoli, Le Duc de. Paris. Rolle, the Rt. Hon. Lady. Bicton, Stevenstone, Torrington, §c., Devon. Sandbach, H. R., Esq. Woodlands, Aigburth, Liverpool. Scarborough, the Rt. Hon. the Dowager Countess of. Woolmers, Leadenhall-street. Penrhyn Castle, Caernarvonshire. Sandbeck Battery, Yorkshire, &c. Selby, P. J., Esq., F.L.S., F.H.S., &c. Twizell House, Northumberland. Skaife, J., Esq. Blackburn, Lancashire. Somerset, His Grace the Duke of, D.C.L., F.R.S., F.A.S., Bulstrode Park, Bucks. Spencer, the Rt. Hon. Earl, K.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Trust. Brit. Mus., &c. Wimbledon, Surrey, &c. Stanley, the Rt. Hon. Lord, LL.D., F.L.S., Pres. Z.S., &c. Knowsley, E.LS., &e. Lancashire. Stokes, C., Esq., F.R.S., F.A.S., F.L.S., &c. Verulam-buildings, Gray s- inn. Sturt, Capt. C., 39th Regt., F.L.S., F.R.G.S. Surgeons, The Royal College of, in London. Swainson, W., Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. Tittenhanger-green, St. Alban’s, Herts. Taylor, Lieut.-Gen. Sir Herbert, G.C.H., F.H.S. S¢. Katharine’s Lodge, Regent's Park. Temminck, Professor. Leyden. Teylerian Library, The. Haarlem. Thackeray, the Rey. George, D.D., Cambridge. Vienna, the Imperial Library of, Messrs. Rohrmann and Schweigerd for. Vigors, N. A., Esq., MERE MEA, HeRiss:, MeR: leat. Belge sss ccc Goce Chester-terrace, Regent's Park. Walker, G., Esq. Nether Green, Eastwood, Notts. Wells, W., Esq., F.H.S. Redleaf, Penshurst, Kent. Wheeler, J. R., Esq. Oakingham, Berkshire. Wilks, J., Esq. Regent-street. Williams, T. P., Esq., M.P. Berkeley-square ; Craigydon, Anglesea, Sc. Witham, W.S., Esq. South Lambeth. Yarrell, W., Esq., F.L.S. Ryder-street, St. James's. Zoological Society of London, The. F.L.S., Prov. King’s College > oD on? PR EP A © RB: T AM induced to lay before the scientific world the present Monograph of a tribe of birds which has already claimed the attention of many of the most able ornithologists; first, because I am thereby afforded an opportunity of introducing to their notice several new species, which are here delineated for the first time; and secondly, from a desire to revise and set forth in as clear a light as possible the numerous species which this family contains, endeavouring at the same time to show their affinities to each other, by which they seem to divide themselves even into more minute groups than those of genera,—groups which are characterized by peculiar and unvarying though subordinate points of difference. These sections should, perhaps, be designated by some kind of nomenclature, and indeed it has been suggested to me that a distinguishing title to each is required. In this attempt, however, I do not feel myself quite warranted at present; but adhering to the established genera of Ramphastos and Pteroglossus, I have thrown the members of each together, as far as my views go, according to the indications of nature in their mutual affinities. I have spared no pains in order to obtain all possible information on the subject, having for this purpose visited and carefully examined most of the collections on the Continent, as well as those of our own island; and I beg to add, that every species I have figured is at present in existence, and has been personally inspected. I mention this expressly, because there are two or three species figured in Levaillant’s “ Oiseaux de Paradis,’ as well as one or two others characterized in Professor Wagler’s “Systema Avium,” of which I have never yet been able to meet with examples. These I have omitted, being doubtful as to whether they ought to be regarded as the delineations of true species, or not: if they are, I hope at some future time to be enabled to discover them; but at present I am not sanguine as to their actual existence. I would here beg to express my obligations to those who have rendered me assistance in b ] | ] | | | o a “ BS athe PREFACE. h blication of the present Work. To Richard Owen, Esq., Assistant Curator of the Museum the public of the Royal College of Surgeons, | | ou civen at the close of the Work, being the result of investigations Oo I am indebted for the elaborate ‘Observations on the Anatomy of the Toucan 7 instituted by himself expressly for this Monograph. From E. T. Bennett, Esq., Secretary of the Zoological Society, N. A. Vigors, Esq., M.P., and W. Swainson, Esq., I have received 5 ae much valuable information. To Lord Stanley, whose rich collection has been at all times most liberally opened to facilitate my inquiries, I am indebted for the use of the originals of three of the figures here delineated. To Professor Lichtenstein I have to express my sincere obligations for permission to avail myself of the treasures contained in the Royal Museum of Berlin, which has been so much enriched by his own personal exertions, and which afforded me two species of this family with which I was previously unacquainted. The fine collection in the National Museum of Paris was made available to me by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire and his talented son M. Isidore St. Hilaire, from both of which scientific gentlemen I received much politeness and attention. [ have not yet had an opportunity of inspecting the Leyden collection, for which purpose | expressly visited that city, the stores which are there being, it is to be regretted, so secured as not to be accessible; but M. Temminck informed me that th 1ey contained no species of this family unknown to the British and continental museums. INTRODUCTION. OF the birds illustrated in the present Monograph, so few species had been discovered in the days of Linnzus, that that great naturalist was induced to include them all in one genus, under the name of Ramphastos; but subsequent research in this branch of ornithological science having produced many additional examples, M. Illiger has with the greatest propriety arranged them under two distinct and well marked genera, applying the established term Ramphastos to the true Toucans, characterized by their large bills and square tails, and throwing the Aracaris, having graduated tails and less disproportionate bills, into a new genus, which he has denominated Pteroglossus, thus forming from the Swedish naturalist's limited genus an extensive family, the members of which are strictly allied to each other in general form and habits, constitute a group at once natural and well defined, and are no less remarkable for the peculiarities of their habits and manners than for their beauty of plumage, and in many species, though the enormous size of their bills may seem to contradict such an assertion, for the elegance of their form and movements. In geographical distribution these birds are strictly confined to the tropical portions of America. According to the best information, they are a retiring and shy race, are mostly observed in small flocks or companies, and inhabit the dense woods and forests of that luxuriant country. In their choice of food they are perfectly omnivorous ; and although their elastic bill and delicately feathered tongue would lead us to conclude that fruits constituted the greatest proportion of their diet, we have abundant testimony that they as readily devour flesh, fish, eggs, and small birds, to which, in all probability, are added the smaller kinds of reptiles, caterpillars, and the larva of insects in general. 1 INTRODUCTION. a delicate white. -acaris. offer no sexual difference in the colour The true Toucans, unlike many of the Aragaris, offe : in all their proporti f the plumage; but the females are rather less than the males in al proportions, 0 Cavs I h s i rally g are not fully developed for a considerable bills, however, as might naturally be expected, ar y Pp period. oO stra 5 a a ? ’ leaping from branch to branch with the most elegant agility. OC In a state of repose, they turn their heads over their shoulders, the bill being completely hidden among the plumage of the upper parts and greater wing-coverts, and the tail raised vertically over the back, in which state the bird resembles a ball of feathers. The habits of these birds in confinement, as observed on two of the species, have been admirably delineated in two papers published a few years since in the “ Zoological Journal, by Mr. Broderip and Mr. Vigors. The details given by the latter gentleman are particularly valuable: they were derived from the observation of an individual of the Ariel Toucan, kept by him for several years, and are almost universally known on account of the numerous reprints of them which have been induced by the graceful manner in which they are recorded, no less than by the interest of the facts themselves, With these few preliminary observations I dismiss the general subject, and proceed to offer some remarks on the distribution of the species which have fallen under my notice. I. The Toucans are distinguished among the Ramphastidee by the very disproportionate size of their bills s, and by the comparative shortness and square termination of the tail. The general colour of their feathering is bl ack; but the throat and the upper and under tail-coverts assume, in all the species yet known, a colouring different from th tail-coverts appears to be iny either crimson, white, or yellow at of the ground. The colour ariably crimson ; that of i » according to the sey terminated behind ] of the under j : 1e€ upper tail-coverts is eral species. The throat is either white or yellow; and is i \ ; and is »y a crimson band, which Is IN some species very narrow, while in others it is so broad as to extend over the whole of the chest. blue; and the naked space surrounding the eyes is usually of the same colour with the legs ; in three species only is it crimson. in this respect, even in the same species, according to the age of the individual: the general distribution of the colouring of the bill seems, however, to be constant. the size of the bird, the bill also varies with the age and sex of the individual, but seems to be constant in each species in the adult state. greater or less convexity of its sides; in the sharpness or roundness of its upper edge; and in TANGER O}DIUT C/E OMG The bill varies much in colour, and is subject to variation the smoothness or jaggedness of its cutting edges. A. The first section of the Toucans comprehends those in which the upper tail-coverts are yellow. crimson band by which it is separated behind from the black of the under surface is of small breadth. All of them have the upper edge of the bill yellow, and a broad band of the same colour surrounding its base, this band being separated by a narrow line of black from the adjoining parts of the head and face. 1. Ramph. culminatus; with the mandibles compressed laterally and wholly black, except 2. Ramph. Cuvier; with the bill more attenuated than in czlminatus, the mandibles 3. Ramph. erythrorhynchus ; with the entire bill red, except the yellow culmen and basal B. In the second section of the Toucans but one species is comprehended. It is characterized either by the total absence of the scarlet pectoral band, or by having it so faint as to be scarcely perceptible. The upper tail-coverts are white, exceed the ordinary proportions, and equal in length about one half of that of the tail-feathers. The throat is white ; the space surrounding the eyes is red, and the eyelids blue. 4. Ramph. Toco; with the bill rich orange, banded at its base and broadly blotched at its In the whole of these the throat is white, with a faint tinge only of yellow; and the This section comprehends three species : the culminal and basal bands, which are pale straw yellow. convex and blackish brown, except the greenish yellow culmen and basal belt of the same colour, which is bounded before by a broad, and behind by a narrow, band of black. band, and the black borders of the basal band and cutting margins. tip with black. Such are the characters of C. The third section of the Toucans comprehends two species, distinguished by the upper The legs are of a slaty In its proportion to It also differs, according to the species, in the | : | PELSTS IES fj ee ae et eee 4 < PGR g i - the yellowishness of the throat, ‘In tail-coverts bein white and of the ordinary length, and by the y ee 5 blue colour as the legs. | a “on 5. Ramph. carmatus ; with the bill of several colours, includmg blue and g 6. Ramph. Swainson ; with the bill divided by a diagonal line, above which it is yellow, rRe . Swe 22; 1 and with the crimson pectoral band separated by a white crescent from the yellow of the neck. D. The fourth and last section of the Toucans comprehends those in which the upper tail- coverts are crimson, and consequently correspond in colour with the under tail-coverts. In the birds thus distinguished the throat is orange, generally more intense in the middle, and either fading gradually backwards, or giving place to a defined pale yellow band, separating the throat from the crimson which immediately succeeds it. ‘The crimson of the breast varies in extent, according to the species, from a broad band to one of so great breadth as to occupy the entire breast. In one of the species the naked space surrounding the eye is blue; in the others it is red. 7. Ramph. vitellinus ; with the bill black, its basal band blue, and the yellow of the throat fading into white on the sides and face. 8. Ramph. Ariel; with the bill black, its basal band yellow, and the deep yellow of the throat bounded behind by a defined pale yellow band. 9. Ramph. dicolorus; with the bill green, its basal band black, the yellow of the throat becoming paler round the whole of its circumference, and the crimson occupying the entire breast, II. The Aracaris, possessing as a part of the family character a bill of great proportional size, have that organ nevertheless comparatively less developed than the Toucans. The tail aracter In its graduated form ; it is most constant colour observable in tl furnishes a tangible distinctiy ang stinctive ch also more lengthened. The nese birds is green, which, in y arious shades from olive to grass green, occupies the upper surface of th ne back, wings, and tail, with the exception generally) of ff tal CTS Bi (generally) of the upper tail-coverts ; in one or two species only is the space between the v Except the green of the back. varies with the different species, shoulders of a different colour. the colour of eve ther part . rc every other although 5s euleon ee gh some are more generally met with than others; coverts, whicl Q e S e I f | 1 7 2 = g ecies } P XJS Ss c OU a ‘ 3 and neck, which pre vails t] 4 such also the chestnut or black of the head 1roughout the greater part throat. [In of the same 1. tis yellow, the yellow upper tail- im In the and either rating the t varies in occupy the the others the throat low of the the throat occupying oportional The tail ened. The n olive to exception tween the sther part n others ; V species ; eater part TNEERTOD URC ABE ON: of the group; such too the yellow of various intensities, and more or less interrupted, which spreads over a greater or less extent of the under surface in most of the species. None of these, however, is constant throughout the genus, which consequently presents in the different species comprehended in it, a greater variety of colouring than is met with in the Toucans, passing from the brilliancy and diversified painting of the Royal or Cayenne Aragaris, to the com- paratively sombre appearance of the Golden-green or the Grooved-billed. The colour of the naked parts is similar to that which is met with in the Toucans; the legs being either blue or greenish, and the naked space round the eyes being generally of the same colour. There are only two species known in which the naked space surrounding the eyes is red. A. In the first section of the Aracgaris may be comprehended those species in which the yellow of the under surface is crossed by a band at the junction of the breast with the belly. In all these birds the yellow of the under surface is more or less blotched with crimson; the upper tail-coverts are crimson ; and the head and neck are black, the black bemg occasionally converted into chestnut on the ears. The males and females offer no difference in their colouring. To this section belong: 1. Pter. Aracari; with the sides of the upper mandible dirty white, and the ventral band broad and crimson. 2. Pter. Castanotis; with the sides of the upper mandible obliquely divided into black and yellow, the sides of the face and of the head chestnut, and the ventral band broad and crimson. 3. Pter. regalis; with the sides of the upper mandible dirty white with black serrations, the ventral band narrow, black in front and crimson behind, and the black of the neck bounded behind by a narrow band of rich chestnut. B. The second section of the Aracaris comprehends those in which the breast is crimson and the belly yellow. In these, as in the birds of the previous section, the upper tail-coverts are crimson; the head and neck are also of a dark colour, which is deep chestnut, except on the upper part of the head, where it is black. It comprehends two species : 4. Pter. bitorquatus; with the outer half of the lower mandible black, a yellow collar (occasionally absent) at the lower part of the throat, and the back of the neck crimson. 5. Pter. Azare; with the bill yellowish throughout, a narrow black band at the lower part of the throat, and a broad black band crossing the breast. 6 are 0 —E—————— = Fe ee SxRERESAETE a me _—— eee Zi [rg FIELTELIL ELE INTRODUCTION. : : a eee e vellow. vari my, Cc. A third ction consists of a single species, distinguished by th y ‘ ed.jnii . A third sec onsis § he whole of its under surface ; by crimson, of th on Il as of its upper tail-coverts ; by the white of the upper part of its throat and s, as well as s : ally by the absence of barbs from the feathers of the last- the deep crimson of the space between its shoulder of the sides of its head ; and espect named parts, and of the head generally, t i “ attened and curled appearance of ebony shavings. It is the he shafts being so spread out, on the upper part of the head particularly, as to have the fl . L . S y S 01U 3 ] sh I ed, an y lo V 9 ] onett uC | inal ] té uloco t 3 W n masses. D. A fourth section of the Aragaris may be distinguished by the birds composing it having the throat, breast, and belly of a single colour, different from that of the upper surface. In the first ‘of the species comprised in it the colours of the hinder part of the trunk are singularly counterchanged, the upper tail-coverts being yellow, while the under are crimson ; whereas in all the other Aracaris in which these feathers differ in colour, it is the upper that are crimson, and the under that are yellow. ‘The species are 7. Pter. hypoglaucus ; with the under surface, except the tail-coverts and the hinder part of the neck, blueish grey. 8. Pter. Bailloni ; with the under surface, sides of the face, and forehead yellow. E. In the fifth section of the Aragaris are comprehended two species, in which the whole of the under surface, except the throat, is yellow or greenish yellow ; the upper tail-coverts are, as usual, crimson; and the head and neck are of a much darker colour than the rest of the body. The colour of the head and neck in the birds of all the preceding sections is similar in both sexes: in those of the present section, these parts are black in the males and brown in the females. 9. Pter. viridis; with the upper mandible yellow above and chestnut below, and the lower mandible black throughout, except at its base. 10. Pter. inscriptus ; with the bill yellow, black on its culmen, at its tip and base, and blotched with black along its cutting edges. F. The sixth sect i the sixth section of the Aragaris agrees with the preceding one in having the anterior par irds rised in j g part of the birds comprised in it of a darker colour than the remainder of the plumage, and in havine S is awh; i . ng those parts which are black in the males differently coloured in the females, except the back ad j : n t ack of the head in one species. The dark colour of the under surface extends 6 INTRODUCTION. over the breast as well as the throat. ‘The ear-coverts, and a crescent-shaped band separating the dark colour of the upper part of the neck from the green of the back, are yellow. In this section we find, for the first time, the upper tail-coverts destitute of any peculiar colour, and agreeing in tint with the adjoining part of the back. 11. Pter. maculrostris ; with the bill white, marked on the sides of the upper mandible with about four large black blotches. 12. Pter. Culik; with the bill red at the base, and black throughout the remaining two thirds of its length. G. The seventh and last section of the Aragaris comprehends two species, distinguished by the simplicity of their colouring from all those which have been previously noticed. They are of a nearly uniform colour, and are entirely destitute of those striking tints which vary so agreeably the plumage of the remainder of the genus. In both of them the upper part of the throat is white; in one of them the cheeks also are white, while in the other they are blue. 13. Pter. prasinus; with the under tail-coverts and tips of the tail-feathers brown. 14. Pter. sulcatus; with the under tail-coverts of the same green as the belly, and the tips of the tail-feathers tinged with blue. In this last section, and especially in the last-named species, the bill acquires its maximum of deviation from the typical form of the family. Instead of being, as in the Toco Toucan, of greatly disproportionate length ; compressed on the sides so as to be comparatively thin in its horizontal diameter while it is elevated in its vertical height; strongly arched along its upper edge, which is so narrow as to be almost sharp; and thin and light in its texture: it becomes in the Grooved-billed Aragari in every respect, as it were, condensed; its length is diminished so as to approach, in some degree, to the dimensions observable in certain Barbets, such as the Bucco grandis from the Himalayan mountains ; its sides, though flattened and deeply grooved, are not approximated to each other, the horizontal or lateral diameter of the bill almost equalling its vertical height; the culmen is broad and flattened; and the whole sub- stance is comparatively solid, and conformable to the structure observable in the approxi- mating genera. In the form of its bill no less than in the colouring of its plumage the Peer. sulcatus is the most aberrant species of the family; it ought probably to be regarded as the type of a peculiar genus, and I should not have hesitated in so considering it, but for the intervention of the Péer. prasénus, which possesses most of its characteristics, though in a less marked degree, and which therefore connects it so immediately with the Aragaris in general as to / , at [rg PEELE IESE T Es INTRODUCTION. hem difficult. The Golden-green Aracari is assuredly a Pteroglossus; d render its separation from t ithe Grooved-billed Aragari differs from it only in nent of those peculiar characters of the bill which show themselves the still greater simplicity of its colouring 2 and in the greater developr to a certain extent in Per. prasinus. If, in the preceding account of the species of Ramphastide, \ have rarely referred to the form of the bill as aiding in their discrimination, it 1s not to be attributed to any undervaluing Se : § of the important help to be thence derived, but to the difficulty of adequately conveying i PcG . : Sy words a correct idea of those varying shades of difference which are appreciable only b - ; ae v4 practised eye and on direct comparison. My principal object has been to facilitate th ee a Ls. e ascertaining of the species of this interesting family, and I trust that I may have, to a certai é : : certain extent, succeeded. In furtherance of i ' . ‘e of ew cult the same view, I add the subjoined tabular attempt at x a a Synopses Specrerum. ADDENDA TO THE INTRODUCTION. In my Preface to the present Monograph I intimated that I was aware that two or three additional species had been described by the late Professor Wagler in his ‘Systema Avium’ which might perhaps prove to be distinct from those figured by myself. Not having seen any examples of the birds themselves, and being consequently unable to determine with certainty as to their complete distinctness, I could not then include them in my work. I have since had an opportunity of personally examining them, during a recent visit to the Museum of Munich, in which they are deposited ; and I now hasten to lay before the scientific public the results of my investigation, and to complete my account of all the species known up to the present time. ‘The fine collection of Vienna afforded me examples of three new species, which, with one kindly forwarded by the Earl of Derby, another by N. C. Strickland, Esgq., and a third by W. Swainson, Esq., make an interesting addition of ten species,—two Toucans and eight Aragaris,—ot which the following is an enumeration. The Toucans, although possessing nearly all the essential characters of the first section, A, of the genus Ramphastos, differ in some respects from other species referred to it. One of them has the upper tail-coverts remarkably pale, their colour being lemon-yellow, the full yellow of these feathers in the other species approaching, particularly at its edge, to orange. The other has a richly coloured neck and chest, and thus approaches the birds of section C. Arranging them as the fourth and fifth species of the first section A, they are distinguishable from all the other species, which have white chests, as the Ramph. citreopygus ; with the upper tail-coverts lemon-yellow. Ramph. osculans ; with the chest orange yellow in the middle, becoming paler towards its edges. Of the Aracaris Pter. pluricinctus may be regarded as constituting a typical example of the first section, A, differing, however, in the slight variation of colour that takes place in its sexes and in the additional black band of its under surface; a band of which a rudiment may be conceived to exist in the black pectoral spot of Pter. regalis. Pter. pluricinctus ; with the sides of the upper mandible, including the serratures, dirty white, the ventral band black in front and crimson behind, a strong black pectoral band. 1 . E . or Ze rang , | tv - n P Fey : viridis d ~ enscriptus ; as 5 ee : Pter. ee ; is ... with the bill yellow, black on its culmen at its tip and base, blotched Pter. Humboldta ; J th black at its serratures, and with the under mandible black. w é ’s, N inwardt’s Aracaris belong to section F, with the followip Langsdorf¥'s, Natterer’s, and Reinwardt’s Arac g ; distinctive characters : , | | | Pter. Nattereri; with the bill red, marked at the base of each mandible with a large black spot, and having the culmen and five or six blotches along the edge of the upper spot, < gt mandible also black. | Pter. Reinwardti ; with the bill reddish at the base, with several black spots near the cutting edge of the upper mandible, and with the culmen and terminal half blackish § eds brown. | | Pter. Langsdorffii; with the bill throughout nearly black, becoming slightly grey towards its base. Pter. pavoninus, Derhianus, and hematopygus will range in the seventh or last section, G, and are thus characterized : Pter. pavoninus; with the under tail-coverts and tips of the tail-feathers brown, and the lower mandible and base and cutting edge of the upper black. Pter. Derbianus ; with the under surface green throughout, and the ups of the two inter- mediate tail-feathers chestnut. Pter. hematopygus; with the under surface green throughout, and the upper tail-coverts blood red. As all the species comprised in this latter section appear to possess characters sufficiently culiar genus, I propose to regard them in that light, and to give them the generic title of Aulacorhynchus, Bill comparatively short, furrowed on the sl under mandible extending obliquely | distinct to warrant their separation as a pe with the following characters : des ; culmen broad and flattened ; base of the veyond the line of the eve. fourth quill-feather the longest, the fifth Tail comparatively short Wings short and round, the , sixth, and seventh being nearly of tl and less decidedly graduated th group are characterized by 1e same length. an in Pteroglossus—The whole of this a uniform green plumage, the feathers of which are loose and de- composed in their texture. SYNOPSIS SPECIER UW M. I. Cauda breviore, quadrata: rostro maximo. igri; gutture caudeque tegminibus discoloribus.—RAMPHASTOS. Ss and Caudz tegminibus superioribus flavis. Pectore albo. Rostro ut plurimum nigro, lateribus compressis 1. culminatus. »tched convexis . : : 2. Cuvieri. —_——— rubro : 3. erythrorhynchus. Pectore pallidé lutescente . : ‘ 4. citreopygus. : ——— flavo ‘ 5. osculans. wings Caudee tegminibus superioribus albis. Pectore albo 6. Toco. black mee Rostro pluricolore : 7. carinatus. Ipper oblique dimidiatim flavo 8. Swainsonit. Caude tegminibus superioribus coccineis. bia Rostro nigro. fame Auribus albis : : : : : : : 9. vitellinus. ckish pectori concoloribus, (sc. flavis) . : - NOS Artel Rostro viridescente . : : : - 11. dicolorus. yards II. Cauda longiore, gradata: rostro majore. Viridescentes ; capite, gastr@o, tegminibusque caude superioribus in plurimis discoloribus —PTEROGLOSSUS. Gastro bi- vel pluri-colore, coloribus discretis. Pectore ventreque flavis, fasciatis. Fascia ventrali coccined, lata. | the Maxille superioris lateribus sordidé albis 1. Aracari. — obliqué dimidiatis nigris . : 2. castanotis. nter- Fascia ventrali antice nigra postict coccinea. Pectore macula nigra notato 3. regalis. torque lata nigra cincto 4. pluricinctus. yerts Pectore coccineo. Torque pectorali vel nulla vel angusta, flava. : : 5. bitorquatus. Sem oC eS Tol Sern Oar] : : : : : 6. Azare. Pectore ventreque flavis, haud fasciatis. ntly Maxilla superiore dimidiatim flavé et aurantiacd 10. viridis. cht, ee Havas Tipo! scripts “a Maxilla inferiore nigra. : : ‘ : ; » Ll. Aumboldtii. aE superiori concolore . : : : 12. mscriptus. the Pectore gutturi concolore, ventre discolore. the Maxilla superiore nigro maculata, albescente . é ‘ ; : i ‘ . 13. maculirostris. 3th. ut plurimum rubra. this apice concolore . : : : ; - 14. Natterert. de- —— nigrescente . : : ; ; ; . 15. Remwardtii. Maxillis nigris, basin versus rubris. : : ‘ : : pe 6s Culia paullum cinerascentibus . ; : é : . 17. Langsdorffit. Gastro unicolore, vel subunicolore. Gastreo stragulo discolore. Gastreo flavo, rubro intermixto . 7. ulocomus. coeruleo-cano 8. hypoglaucus. flavo 9. Bailloni. Gastrzo stragulo subconcolore. Crisso discolore. Mandibule superioris basi flavescente . : = LS prasinus: SS MIGIRO : : : 19. pavoninus. Crisso concolore. Uropygio concolore. Rectricum apicibus concoloribus . 5 . 20. sulcatus. - intermediarum duarum apicibus cas- taneis . 4 : . ‘ : , - 21. Derbianus. Uropygio coccineo . : : : : . 22. hematopygus. IVE Genus Ramphastos, Linne. CHARACTERES GENERICI. Rostrum capite longius, maximum, crassum, inane, cultratum, margine basal incrassato; maxille angulo frontali subtruncato transverso: nares verticales, pone maxille basin site: tomia serrata: lingua angusta, pennacea. Cauda brevis, equalis. 8 , » &¢ Bill very large, longer than the head, thick, light, curved, and thickened at the basal margin; the frontal angle transversely subtruncated ; margins serrated. /Vostri/s vertical, behind the base of the bill. Tongue slender, long, and feathered. Zaz short, even. Pune 5 se ot hn | | i REE oe | IK WE CIAECELECECETECIIECEIEI EIDE Lisi riba. i bl iti 80 eee aN 9 at RAMPHASTOS CULMINATUS. Culminated Toucan. Speciric CHARACTER. Ramph. rostro nigro, culmine fascidque basali straminets : ater ; gula pectoreque albis; fascia angusta pectoral tectricibusque caude inferioribus coccinets ; uropygu plumis sulphureis in aurantiwm ad apices transeuntibus. Beak black, with a broad line of pale straw yellow along the whole length of the culmen, from which a basal belt of the same colour encircles both mandibles; throat and chest white bounded by a narrow pectoral band of crimson, which is also the colour of the under tail-coverts ; feathers of the uropygium brimstone yellow, passing off into fiery orange at their tips ; remainder of the plumage black. Total length, from 18 to 20 inches; dil, 4 to 5, breadth, scarcely 1; wing, 8% to 9; taal, OF to 7; tarsus, 2. Ramphastos culminatus. Gould, Proceedings of the Zool. Soc., Part I. p. 70. Ir is now several years since I first received this fine species, which I had always been led to confound with the Ramphastos Cuviert of Wagler. A more minute examination of its characters, however, has convinced me that the present bird is essentially different, particularly in the formation of its mandibles, having them invariably shorter and more incurved, with the upper one compressed laterally so as to present a narrow culmen bounded by a furrow on each side running its whole length; a character very different to that of R. Cuvieri, the upper mandible of which is regularly swollen on its sides, of great length, and gradually drawn out to a point. With the exception of the bird just referred to, it is impossible to confound the present with any other known species. The Ramphastos culminatus is a rare bird in the collections of Europe: a fine example graces the museum of Lord Stanley ; another—in all probability a female, the stature being inferior, and the characters alluded to less prominent—is in the museum of the Zoological Society of London. The species was received from Mexico, to which country and the Spanish Main its habitat is in all probability restricted. eT STOS Cm Cuvier’s Toucan. ULAGUUNI/AVLLL0]OTTpTAN TTT AUNT cine nm ip "i RAMPHASTOS CUVIERI, Wagler. Cuvier’s Toucan. Spectric CHARACTER. : > a . . . aN . A : A Ramph. rostro brunneo-nigrescente, culmine fasciaque basali luters, hac postice linea mgra anticé fascia atra cincta: mger; genis, gutture, pectoreque albis lutescenti tinctis ; torque pectorali caudceque tectricibus infertoribus cocciners, supervoribus aurantiaco-flavis. Beak brownish black on the sides, with a large basal belt and culmenal line of greenish yellow, the basal belt being bounded behind by a narrow line of black, and before by a broader one of deep black, which is only apparent in certain lights; the top of the head and whole of the upper surface black, with the exception of the upper tail-coverts, which are bright orange yellow ; cheeks, throat, and chest white, with a tinge of greenish yellow terminated by a band of scarlet; under surface black; under tail-coverts scarlet. Total length, 24 inches; bzll, 7+; wings, 9; tail, 63: tarsz, 2. Ramphastos Cuviert. Wagler, Syst. Avium. Tue only naturalist who has hitherto noticed this fine and rare species appears to be Wagler, who has given a detailed account of its specific characters in his “‘ Systema Avium.” The species most nearly allied to it in form and colouring is the Ramphastos erythrorhynchus, but from which it may be at once distinguished by its larger size, and by the black colour almost universally spread over the mandibles in place of the bright scarlet which is so conspicuous in that species. The upper tail-coverts are also of a more intense orange. In size, the Ramphastos Cuviert is equal if not superior to the &. foco, its beak being fully as large, and although not keel-shaped along the upper ridge, is also similarly attenuated. The rarity of this bird may be best understood, when I state, that my own specimen is the only one I have ever seen, with the exception of another which I have some recollection of in the Museum at Berlin, the splendid collection at Paris having no example. The one I possess, with my other rare and new species, will be added to the fine collection of the Zoological Society of London. The natural habitat of this bird is doubtless the densely wooded districts on both sides of the Amazon ; at least we are led so to suspect from its form, which agrees with the A. erythrorhynchus and culminatus, birds both natives of the same locality, or nearly so. A i i F k en ee Tate ee a een Terre ee “ ERYTHRORAY) Red-billed 7, yucan. WALA ALT ATTTP TANT ATTAATTTAH THAT a "3 ie UH Ml RAMPHASTOS ERYTHRORHYNCHUS. Red-billed Toucan. Sprecrric CHARACTER. Ramph. rostro rubro, vitta fascidque basali flavis, hac postice lined anticé fascia nigris cinctd ; tomiis nigris: niger ; gugulo pectoreque albis lutescenti tinctis ; torque pectoral angusta caudeeque tectricibus infervoribus coccineis, supertoribus saturate flavis. Beak red at the sides, with a broad line of yellow continued throughout its entire length, and a basal belt of the same colour, bounded posteriorly by a narrow line of black and anteriorly by a broader one of the same colour; a black line runs along the edges of both mandibles; naked skin round the eye; the legs and the feet blueish lead colour ; general plumage black ; the throat and chest white, with a tinge of greenish straw yellow, bounded by a narrow pectoral band of scarlet, the under tail-coverts being of the same colour, while the upper ones are deep yellow. Total length, 23 inches ; ill, 6+; wings, 8%; taal, 62; tarsz, 2. Red-beaked Toucan. Edw., t. 238. Ramphastos erythrorhynchus. Auct. Le Toucan. Levaill., Ois. de Parad., vol. 2. t. 3. Le Toucan @ collier jaune? Levaill., Ois. de Parad., vol. 2 t. 4. Toucan a gorge blanche de Cayenne, appellé Tocan. Buff, Pl. Enl., n. 262. Ramphastos Levaillanti? Wagler, Syst. Avium. Tue present species, as its name implies, is distinguished by the brilliant colouring of its beak, which loses its original brightness immediately after death, so that the specimens exhibited in our museums might often be mistaken, upon a superficial glance, for other species. In one respect it is subject to slight variety in its colouring, as we do not find in all specimens the delicate straw-coloured tinge on the white breast, which is = in all probability the index of a recent change of plumage, and which perhaps disappears after a short ee exposure to the action of light and heat. ; Richly ornamented with well contrasted hues of great brilliancy, this elegant species inhabits the deep forests which border: the Amazon, and the wooded districts of Cayenne and Guiana, being spread in considerable abundance over a wide extent of country. In its general habits and manners it resembles the rest of its congeners, leaping lightly from branch to branch among the topmost foliage of the highest trees, where it passes its existence. if PUR UYED CY a0 0) ETE TT TPT CP Ta Cad aT TP CP TT eT PT A neg HUAYUULLY IOLA HIATT TTT TW yi { TA A LAS Iq) S > CITRE OPY GUS. renee ef “ ae ae : Ramph. rostro elongato, compresso, fascia angusta nigr& hasali circumdato, apice sanguineo ; = ey ra : ie yi mandibulad superiore viridi, culmine maculdque utrinque aurantio-flavis ; inferiore ceruled viridi tincta: ater, nitidus, cervice rufo partum tincto ; gutture pectoreque luteis ; fascia pectorali tectricibusque caudee inferioribus coccinets ; uropygio albo. Beak very long and compressed laterally, with a narrow marginal band of black at the base ; upper mandible green, with a spot of orange yellow on each side and a line of the same colour extending along the culmen throughout its whole length; lower mandible blue shaded with green; tips red; naked skin round the eye, tarsus, and toes violet ; eyes light green; throat and breast delicate lemon yellow; pectoral band and under tail- coverts scarlet; uropygium white ; the remainder of the plumage shining black, with a shght tinge of rufous on the back of the neck. Total length, 20 inches; dz//, 6. Brazihan Pie. Edw., vol. 2. t. 64. Yellow-breasted Toucan. Edw., vol. 3. p. 253. t. 329, (adult). Ramphastos Tucanus.? Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. 8. p. 362. Ramphastos carinatus. Swains., Zool. Illus., vol. 1. pl. 45. Tuere are at present only two or three examples of this species of Toucan in the Museums of this country. The Royal collection at Berlin, however, afforded the opportunity of examining a series of specimens at one view, the minute inspection of which convinced me that, like most other species, especially those whose beaks are characterized by a variety of delicate tints, the colours of the mandibles of the present species, as well as the naked skin round the eye, undergo considerable change after death ; still it is easy to observe that the original colour is very different in different individuals, whence I am led to conclude that the colours of the beak are greatly influenced by the season of the year, and are doubtless in the finest and most brilliant state during the time of pairing. In some examples the orange spot on the sides of the bill is almost wanting, and in others divided into a succession of small ones, or dilated into a broad band, occupying nearly the whole length of the mandible ; but notwithstanding these variations, the present bird possesses specific characters which readily distinguish it ; these consist of the carinated form of the upper mandible, the culmen of which is invariably yellow, bordered round its base by a narrow edging of black. It is certain that Edwards saw this bird in a living state in the year 1759, and described it under the name of the Yellow-breasted Toucan. His details and figure are characterized by the accuracy which is usually found in the writings of that talented naturalist : he states that it was brought to this country from Jamaica, where it was in all probability received from the adjacent continent. Speaking of its bill, he observes, that the drawing from life of one bird of this genus is worth ten from dead specimens, as the bills always lose, after death, their natural beautiful hues. In vol. 2, pl. 64, is another drawing and description of a Toucan, which he has called the Brazilian Pie. This bird was also received from Jamaica, and in my opinion is identical with the present species, from which it is only distinguished by the colour of the throat, which is white or cream-colour, the result in all probability of disease or weakness. Mr. Swainson is the only author who has done strict justice to the present bird since the days of Edwards, by publishing a reduced figure in his ‘Zoological Illustrations ”; but although he quotes Edwards as the first who has noticed this bird, he is silent as to the other figure alluded to. It is not figured by Le Vaillant. The specimens in the Zoological Society's Museum and in the Berlin collection are from the southern provinces of Mexico, which may be considered its true and natural habitat. It is called P’to canoa by the inhabitants of Mexico. S e 2 Walnson's Toucan HAC]IAU LUISA LCOTpTA Tyan TTT ATAU a "3 - a " Aas ITAL ANN RAMPHASTOS SWAINSONII. Swainson’s Toucan. Spectric CHARACTER. Ramph. mandibule superioris basi inferné inferiorisque basi totd rufis; hujus apice hineaque obliqua a rictu ad frontem extensa nigris ; superroris culmine parteque antica flavis: ater, vertice nuchaque rufo parum tinctis ; gutture lutescenti-flavo, abdomen versus lined alba alteraique coccinea cincto; tectricibus caude superioribus albis, inferioribus coccineis. rostrum pro tempestate bicolor tantum ; mandibula inferiore superioreque obliqué et inferneé . . . . XV A basin versus negris ; hac ad apicem supernéque flava. The base of the lower part of the upper mandible, as well as the entire base of the under, is of a rich salmon colour, bounded by a narrow line of black on the former, the point of the lower being entirely black ; the remainder of the upper mandible, from the forehead to the point, of a rich orange yellow ; throat lemon yellow bounded on the breast by a narrow band of white, which is succeeded by a broader one of scarlet; the head, the back of the neck, the whole of the upper and under surface, deep black; under tail-coverts scarlet, upper ones white ; legs and feet lead colour. In a different season the salmon colour towards the base of the mandibles is entirely wanting, its place being occupied by a dull black, only less intense than that of the oblique line which borders it. Total length, 18 inches; taz/, 6+; wings, 9; tarsz, 14; length of the Azd/, 5+ to 6. Tocard? Le Vaill., Ois. de Parad., vol. 2. pl. 9. Ramphastos ambiguus? Swains., Zool. Illus., pl. 168. Ramphastos Swainsoni. Gould, Proceedings of the Zool. Soc., part 1. p. i} , g > I Tue changes which the colours of the bill undergo in this race of birds during the living state are at length beginning to be understood ; and the present species is well adapted to illustrate the extent of variation which occurs, probably at different seasons. Were it not for a knowledge of these changes, the birds in the Plate before us might be regarded as two species ; but their identity is fully proved by a series of specimens in my possession, which exhibit a gradual transition from one colour to the other. From the Ramphastos ambiguus of Mr. Swainson, a species which I have referred to with doubt as synony- mous with the present, the distinction rests on the less extension forwards of the black of the upper mandible. In the: figure published by that gentleman, the black of the lower margin of the bill reaches to the tip, and gives off near its anterior part small subtransverse bars of the same colour. In the present species, on the contrary, the black stops short of the tip fully one third of the length of the bill; and the bars are absent. Mr. Swainson’s figure also represents an oblique dash of green on the side of the bill; but this is probably of no importance, and depends on incipient change after death in the brilliant yellow of that part: in one of my specimens there are on one side irregular blotches of green which are entirely wanting on the other. In all other respects the closest resemblance obtains between the two birds. I am not aware that any specimen of Mr. Swainson’s bird is in existence. His authority for it was a draw- ing (stated to have been taken from the bird just dead,) by an unknown artist, for whose general accuracy, however, he was enabled to vouch. It is barely possible that a slip of the pencil may have produced the difference of colouring which has just been pointed out; but this would be an assumption on which I am not disposed to rely. I therefore regard the present bird as distinct. In dedicating it to Mr. Swainson, I trust that he will receive it as a testimony of the high estimation I entertain for his scientific attainments in the studies of nature and his researches in this particular group. The Tocard of Le Vaillant represents a state of plumage I have never seen. It agrees with the present bird in every respect except in the colour of the throat and chest, which is represented as white. It is most probable that this is owing to the fading of the delicate lemon yellow of that part in an individual of the present species, perhaps from exposure to air or to a strong light. The R. Swainsonit was received by me from Mr. Christie of Popayan, in Columbia: I have also received a specimen from South Mexico. Its habitat appears extended along the Andes and the diverging chains inter- vening between those places. an eS a ee eae wa! ee aed oo | | i be afl ps LOLILIECECETECLUETETEIFIY TEVEIETETET ET ROK OMAK OK ARO AK GLO NOK ON ORO RONG KAKO | ee ne ec ee erErneenaEEEEnnEnnenEEREEnEIIREneneaInnemnetnenemeneiemmemeeneted —_ RAMPHASTOS VITELLINUS, Miger. Sulphur-and-white-breasted ‘Toucan. Sprectric CHARACTER. : aA . A EN : A . A . A . Ramph. rostro nigro, fascia basalt ceruleo-cand postice linea nigra cincta: niger; pectore aurantiaco-flaco in album ad latera et anticé transeunte; torque pectoral caudceque tectricibus coccineis. Beak black, with a basal band of greyish blue bounded posteriorly by a narrow band of black ; naked space round the eye blueish lead colour; general plumage black; breast orange yellow in the centre, becoming gradually paler towards the side, where it is quite white, especially on the cheeks and throat ; the orange colour of the breast is bounded by a pectoral band of scarlet, the upper and under tail-coverts being of the same colour. Total length, 17 or 18 inches; bell, 5; wengs, 7; tail, (CS. MS 1 Le Pignancoin. Levaill., Ois. de Parad., vol. 2. pl. 7. Ramphastos vitellinus. Mig —Lichtenst—Swains., Zool. [llust., vol. — aS Or a Were it not that the blue band at the base of the beak fades immediately after death, the present species would be easily distinguished : independently of this, however, the white ear-coverts and sides of the chest are sufficiently characteristic to distinguish it from all others. It appears to have been separated from the rest of its genus by Illiger, and has been figured by Mr. Swainson in his ‘ Zoological Illustrations.” It inhabits oe Surinam, Cayenne, Guiana, and the borders of the Amazon, in which countries its beautiful yellow chest is held in high esteem by the natives, by whom its skin is often prepared for ornaments. S ) pre} | | PO ES aes Pee ee eee eR Ae RAMPHASTOS ARIEL, Vigors. TUCANUS, Linné? Ariel Toucan. Specific CHARACTER. Ramph. rostro nigro, fascia basali sulphured, culmine ad basin ceruleo: ater; gula genis '} One } 2 5S guttureque aurantzo-luters, hujus margine inferiore sulphureo, regione pertophthalmica nuda miniaced, fuscia pectorali crisso uropygroque cocciners. Beak black, with a basal band of rich yellow; culmen for half its length greyish blue ; throat and breast rich orange yellow, becoming paler on its outer edges; below the orange of the breast extends a narrow belt of straw yellow, which is succeeded by a broader one of scarlet, which is the colour of the upper and under tail-coverts; the whole of the remaining plumage of both the upper and under surface of a profound black; bare skin round the eye scarlet; irides blue ; tarsi lead colour. Total length, 18 inches; wings, 7+; tad, 62; tars, 1%. Ramphastos Tucanus. Linn.’ Le Toucan de Para de l Amérique méridionale. Vieill., Gal. des Ois., Suppl. Toucan Brasiliensis gutture luteo? Briss., Orn., vol. 4. p. 419. pl. 32. fig. 1. Le Toucan & gorge jaune du Bresil. Buff., Pl. Enl. n. 307. Ramphastos Temmincki’ Wagler, Syst. Avium. ——_—_—. Ariel. Vigors, in Zool. Journ., vol. 2. p. 466. TuereE is no one species of the family of Toucans that is more common in our museums, or better known, than the present; yet, strange to say, none is involved in greater confusion: and this confusion appears to have arisen from one author having taken his characters from the description of another, without having instituted any examination for himself. Instead of going into a detailed history of this tissue of confusion, I would rather refer my readers to the elaborate paper on the subject by N. A. Vigors, Esq., M.P., in the «¢ Zoological Journal,” vol. 2. p. 466. For myself, I cannot help suspecting that, notwithstanding the yellow upper tail-coverts described by Linnzeus as characteristic of Ramphastos Tucanus, the present bird is in reality identical with that species ; and I am the more inclined to believe this, as no such bird exists in any museum, as far as I have been able to ascertain. However, upon referring to the works of Linnzus, Brisson, and Wagler, the reader may satisfy himself respecting the uncertainty which hangs over the nomenclature of the bird in question. An example of this beautiful species lived in the possession of Mr. Vigors for eight years. It is extremely common in the Brazils, whence it is dispersed throughout the greater part of South America. j | RYO KOKO HONG OAH ONIN GAP HONG HO KG TOOK ORI KG HKG KOKO KH KONG KO KO ROME —— be a . —_ ena ee - coed re RAMPHASTOS DICOLORUS, Linne. Red-breasted Toucan. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Ramph. rostro luteo, marginibus serratis rubris, fascia lata basali nigra : ater chalybeo splendens ; pectore aurantiaco, lined sulphured cincto ; abdomine caudceque tectricibus coccineis. Beak greenish yellow with red serrated edges, the base of both mandibles surrounded by a broad band of black; naked skin round the eye red; the upper parts of the body, wings, tail, thighs and vent, black with steel blue reflections; centre of the breast bright orange encircled by a band of delicate primrose yellow ; the belly, upper and under tail-coverts rich scarlet red; feet and legs blueish lead colour. Total length, from 14 to 17 inches; length of dz// from 2% to 33, breadth at base 14; wing, 7; tail, 6%; tarsus, 14. Ramphastos dicolorus. Gm. Linn., p. 556. Lath., Ind. Orn., p. 135.2. Turton, vol. 1. p.211. Swains., Zool. Ilus., vol. 2. pl. 108. Jard. & Selby, Illus. of Orn., vol. 1. pl. xxix. Yellow-throated Toucan. Lath., Syn., 1. 325., Gen. Hist. Birds, vol. 2. p. 282. Turton, vol. 1. pelt Brsson, Orn: tom. 4p! 40t plesit tf t Button; el: Enl., 269. Le petit Toucan a ventre rouge. Le Vaill., Hist. Nat. des Toucans, pl. 8. Le Tucat. Azar., Voy., 3. p.143.n.51. Wagler, Syst. Avium. Ramphastos Tucai. Lichtenst., Catal., p. 7. Ramphastos chlororhynchus. 'Temm., Man. dOrn. OrnituoLoeists of the present day are induced to consider the bird here figured as referrible to the Ramphastos dicolorus of Linnzus; and without venturing to question the accuracy of this opinion, it must nevertheless be observed that the specific term is somewhat inapplicable to a bird possessing three decided and conspicuous colours. This species has been illustrated by Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby, in their valuable ‘Tlustrations of Ornithology,” as a typical example of the true Toucans; in which publication will also be found a somewhat lengthened description, as well as an account of the general habits and manners, of the species comprising this family. The Ramphastos dicolorus may be readily distinguished from all other species by several prominent characters. It is the smallest of the genus, and in the colour and development of the bill much variety exists. To the want of opportunity of examining a series of specimens at one time may be attributed the confusion in the nomenclature with respect to this bird. I am fully persuaded, however, that these changes are entirely attendant on age, sex, or season. The females have always the shorter bill and rather less brilliant colouring, offering also in stature the same disproportion, independent of which no other external differences are to be discovered, and these even are so trifling as scarcely to indicate the female without actual dissection. The young bird, which is represented in the lower figure, is barely arrived at that period at which it is capable of providing for its own wants; the bill at this age is extremely delicate in texture, and is so soft and yielding as to require food of the most pulpy and nutritious nature, in all probability fruits, larvae of insects, &c. Even at this youthful stage the plumage has assumed its perfect colouring, and the tints are scarcely less brilliant than those of the adult: in this particular the family of Ramphastide closely resemble the Fissirostral birds, and like them lay white eggs, and incubate in holes or dark recesses. The present species is extensively spread over the Brazils. It has been received from Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Paraguay. ETE ei Genus Pteroglossus, Mhger. CHARACTERES GENERICI. Rostrum capite longius, crassum, inane, cultratum, margine basali incrassato ; mawille angulo frontal obtuso : tomia serrata : nares supere in mawille basi: lingua angusta, pennacea. Cauda elongata, cuneata. Bill longer than the head, thick, light, curved, thickened at the basal margin; the frontal angle obtuse ; the margins serrated. Vostri/s nearly vertical, situated on the base of the bill. Tongue long, slender, feathered. Zail elongated, cuneated. i ITNT AMT a 2| gut bl) | HUAfHitl PTEROGLOSSUS ARACARI, Auce. Cayenne Aracari. Specrric CHARACTER. Pter. mandibula superiore pallidé stramined, macula lata culminali nigra ; inferiore nigra ; Sascid basalt angusta, alba: supra olivaceo-viridis, subtis flavus ; uropygro, abdomine late, + torqueque angusta interrupta pectoral cocciners ; capite colloque nigris. Beak, wpper mandible pale straw white, with a broad black culminal mark, the edges slightly serrated ; the lower mandible black ; both are surrounded by a narrow basal belt of white ; head and throat black; the whole of the upper surface olive green, with the exception of the rump, which is red; under surface fine yellow, with a broad abdominal band of scarlet and indications of an interrupted line of the same colour bordering the black of the throat ; thighs dull olive, largely blotched with reddish brown. Total length, 18 to 19 inches; Azll, 4 to 5; wing, 6; tail, 7+; tarsi, 14. Ramphastos Aracart. Auct. L’ Aracari & ceinture rouge. Levaill., Ois. de Parad., 2. p. 29. t. 20. I am at a loss to determine whether the present bird, which is a native of Cayenne and Guiana, be identical with one from the Brazils, and which, although closely resembling it in colour and size, invariably possesses minute characters which at once indicate its country. The variation to which [allude consists in the following particulars. The examples from Cayenne have the mandible more attenuated and hooked, the teeth more defined, and the black mark on the culmen much more expanded ; the black of the throat is bounded by an interrupted line of fine red, which, though it is to be traced in the other, is much more obscure ; the thighs also in the present species are dull olive green, with strong dashes of reddish brown, which in many specimens predominates so as to obscure the green entirely. In the Brazilian examples, the thighs are wholly green, added to which I have invariably found the present bird to be somewhat larger in size. Whether these distinctions amount to specific differences, or are to be considered only as variations depending on difference of climate and other local circumstances, is a question not easy to determine. I am inclined, however, to believe that their being constant and unvarying, forms a good argument for supposing them to be truly distinct: be this as it may, I consider this as the first described, and consequently the one to which the term Aracari exclusively belongs. On turning to the valuable work of Levaillant, we find him censuring Buffon for confounding the present with a totally different species, the Pteroglossus viridis, and immediately afterwards doubting whether the present bird and one from Peru, with an additional narrow belt of black across the chest (the Aracari a double ceinture), be merely varieties or actual species. This Peruvian bird is not, I believe, in existence, nor has any other specimen been seen or described. If, however, the drawing be correct, I have no hesitation in saying it is distinct, and we have yet to look for it as the reward of future exertions. Levaillant informs us that the P. Aracari abounds in Guiana, where it makes great havock in the plantations of bananas, guavas, and even of coffee. I am indebted to Lord Stanley for a specimen of the immature bird, which is extremely valuable, as showing that the young, like the genuine Toucans, acquire the mature colouring of the plumage at an early age, long before the beak is fully developed, or has attained its particoloured hues. It inhabits Cayenne and Guiana. TEietr ies STEUER ETE SRE TE OS RTO AT ENT PTEROGLOSSUS CASTANOTIS. Chestnut-eared Aracari. Sprectric CHARACTER. Be Ph ; ae . Pter. rostro depresso ; mandibuld supertore stramined, culmine laté nisi ad apicem maculaique triangular? utrinque nigris ; tomits profunde dentatis, interstitits nigris ; mandibula inferiore aay P ee fe mgra; fascia bhasali flacd: supra olivaceo-viridis, subtus sulphureus ; capite guttureque ee : a : . : Ae nigris ; regione parotica Semoribusque saturate castaneis ; uropygZio, enterscapulio, abdomi- misque fascia lata coccineis ; tectricihus caudee inferioribus sordidé flavis ; remigibus brunneis. Beak depressed, of a deep straw yellow, with a broad triangular mark of black along its cudmen for two thirds of its length, and a nearly similar mark of black on each side; its edges are strongly dentated, the intervals between the notches being black ; the under mandible is black throughout; an abrupt line of yellow surrounds the base of the beak ; crown of the head, sides of the neck, and throat black ; ear-coverts rich dark chestnut ; whole of the upper surface, wings and tail dark olive green ; the whole of the under surface, with the exception of a rich band of scarlet which crosses the breast, of a rich lemon yellow, with a few slight dashes of scarlet on the breast and under tail-coverts ; upper tail-coverts scarlet ; thighs chestnut ; tarsi dark lead colour. Total length, 172 inches ; bill, 5; wings, 6+; tail, 7+; tarsz, 14. Pteroglossus castanotis. Gould, Proceedings of the Zool. Soc., Part I. p- 119. Ir is not a little remarkable that in a group of birds so limited as the present, so many species, hitherto undescribed, should reward the researches which the Monograph has called me to institute. I here introduce another new species to the notice of the scientific, which approaches in its general form and colours to the Pteroglossus Aracari. It is but recently that I became possessed of this fine species, a notice of which, together with its specific characters, will be found in the ‘‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” Part I. p. 119. Its habitat is Brazil, and I would again remark, that if in a country like that, which has been well explored, new species are continually discovered to reward the researches of science, how much more may we not expect from a laborious scrutiny of those countries of the New World not yet visited by the scientific labourer! Although I have designated this bird castanotis, a title which clearly indicated the bird in my possession, yet on examining a specimen of the same species in the Royal Museum of Paris, I found the chestnut, which covers the ears only in my specimen, extending round the throat ; but whether this difference is the result of age, sex, or season, the limited knowledge I have of the species does not enable me to determine. The Paris specimen had the name of P. ditorguatus attached to the pedestal on which it was mounted ; but the true P. bitorquatus, for which this bird appeared to have been mistaken, was not in the collection. OROR IIT a | 4's m I 2 1 IN} (U HU rE ee oo ET ee roan ae PTEROGLOSSUS REGALIS, Lichtenstein. Royal Aracari. Sprecirric CHARACTER. Pter. mandibulad superiore stramined, nigro serrata, culmine negro; imferiore nigra, fascia 2 bas ee ae a angusta stramined : olivaceo-viridis ; capite colloque aterrimis ; cervice fascia lunata castaned posticé cincta ; gutture postice coccineo obscuré marginato; corpore infra flavo, sanguineo vv 4 OC maculata ; pectoris macula aterrima, fascidique atra postici ‘omnatea ; 0Ci oF 5 0g ra posticd cocceneo marginata ; tectricibus caudce inferrortbus obscure flavis ; uropygit fascra coccinea ; remigitbus brunnevs. Upper mandible straw yellow, the culmen and serratures black, under mandible black with a basal edge of straw yellow; head, neck, and throat deep black ; asemilunar mark of chestnut bounds the back of the neck; the whole of the upper surface and tail olive green; the quill-feathers brown; band across the rump scarlet; the black margin of the upper part of the chest is obscurely edged with scarlet, below which on the centre of the breast is a deep black mark, and below this again a black band edged with scarlet; thighs rufous; ground colour of the under surface of a fine gamboge yellow with numerous stains as if of blood; under tail-coverts dull yellow. Total length, from 15 to 17 inches; beak, 4 to 44. Tue only example of this bird which I have had an opportunity of examining, was in the Royal Museum at Berlin. It is characterized, by M. Lichtenstein as differing in many essential particulars from P. Aracar?, which is, however, the only species it could ever be confounded with ; but from this it may at once be distinguished by the black bands on the chest, the lunar-shaped mark on the back of the neck, and rufous thighs, none of which characters are possessed by the latter. In general size and stature, the two birds agree as closely as possible. Although the present is the first figure of the P. regalis which has been published, it has in SINT 2A. SOT BE, ED NEED SpA Tale Catia hos? Nall. all probability been for some time known on the Continent, but confounded with P. Aracari, of which it may be observed that Dr. Latham, in his ‘‘ General History of Birds,” makes it the variety A. The habitat, however, of these two birds appears to be very different; the P. regalis being an inhabitant of Mexico, while the P. Aracari is confined to the Brazils. Both birds are equally typical of the genus, and in all probability similar in general habits and manners. Called Pretto réal by the Spanish people in Mexico. HORGKHK pre ie ces ] banded Aragari ( IS S Ly Ss Many- fl ay’ | i TATE Doe (hE 274 |F5 : i i = GNIKHKR INI KH APARGRS RO KO KG Kangke TEEE PILE * : 3 , a aa EE ART ee a i CD Ce - teeta oo cal aati re PTEROGLOSSUS PLURICINCTUS. Many-banded Aracari. Spreciric CHaRractTEer. Mas. Pter. rostro ad hasin lined elevata flaca cincto ; culmine, lined mandibule superioris intra- basalt, mandibulaque inferiore nigris; mandibule supervoris latertbus aurantiaco-flavis, zn flavescenti-albidum apicem versus transeuntibus : olwwaceo-viridis ; capite, gula, gutture gastreique fascis duabus lates, nieris; gastro antice flavo, coccineo maculato, postice uropygvoque cocciners ; crisso pallide flavo ; orbite pedesque saturate plumbez. ay D ‘ aA A aN s : 5 * Fem. Regione parotica brunnea ; gutture postice coccineo cincto. Male. A broad band of black advances from the nostrils along the whole of the culmen and forms a narrow belt down the sides of the upper mandible at its base; the elevated basal margin of the bill is yellow; the sides of the upper mandible beautiful orange yellow, fading into yellowish white towards the tip; under mandible wholly black with a yellow — basal ridge; head, neck, and chest black; whole of the upper surface, except the rump, which is scarlet, dark olive green; breast marked with two broad bands of black, the upper separated from the throat by an intervening space of yellow dashed with red; a sunilar but broader space separates the two bands of black, the lower of which is bounded by scarlet, advancing as far as the thighs, which are brownish olive; under tail- coverts light yellow; naked space round the eyes, tarsi, and feet dark lead colour. Female. Differs from the male in having the ear-coverts brown and a narrow belt of scarlet bordering the black of the throat. Total length, 20 inches; ell, 44; wings, 63; tazl, 8t. ; : Pteroglossus pluricinctus, Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., Part III. Autuoucs I have not been able to see the identical bird which Le Vaillant described and figured under the title of LZ’ Aracari a double ceinture, and which was considered by that naturalist as merely a variety of the Common Aracari (Peer. Aracari), still I am induced to believe that it is identical with the present species. The extreme rarity of the bird, and the consequent small number of specimens that have reached Europe, will in some degree account for the neglect of subsequent writers, who appear either to have entirely over- looked it, or to have taken Le Vaillant’s opinion as well grounded. If, however, other observers had had the opportunity which I have possessed of examining several specimens, they would, I doubt not, have come to the same conclusion as myself, and consider it to be not only a distinct species, but one of the most beautiful of the group to which it belongs. I can only attribute Le Vaillant’s error to the circumstance of his having most probably seen not more than one or two specimens, and those most likely in an inferior condition. Beautiful examples of both sexes form part of the Brazilian collection at Vienna: the sexes were ascertained by actual dissection by the celebrated naturalist M. Natterer, who obtained them in the remote districts of the Brazilian territory. a a> eae — ast a ED SE EY Ns | AE SED a ies SD a> SUS Ua | ABA tal L= : PTEROGLOSSUS BITORQUATUS, Pigors. Double-collared Aracari. Specrric CHARACTER. Pier. mandibulé superiore albescenti-flacd ; inferiore albida, fascia obliqua apicali negra: capite nigro ; dorso, alis, caudaque olivaceo-viridibus ; gula guttureque castaneis, hoc subtus nigro- marginato ; torque pectorals angusta, abdomine, crissoque sulphureis ; pectore, nuchd, uropygrogue cocciners. Upper mandible whitish yellow, lower white with a black oblique fascia at the apex ; upper surface olive green ; top of the head black; throat and sides of the neck chestnut, terminated by a narrow black pectoral band, below which is a similar one of yellow ; breast, back of the neck, and rump scarlet; abdomen and under tail-coverts sulphur yellow ; thighs olive green. Total length, 14 inches ; Azi/, 3. Pteroglossus bitorquatus. Vig., in Zool. Journ., vol. 2. p. 481. Tue first and only notice of this bird, as far as I am aware, is the one which appeared in the second volume of the ‘‘ Zoological Journal,” as above quoted. It is there characterized as a species new to science, by Mr. Vigors, from a fine specimen in his possession, but since transferred with the whole of his collection to the Museum of the Zoological Society of London. From the two narrow bands, one of yellow, the other of black, which partially surround the chest, it received the specific name of ditorguatus, though these colours are but partial, The Preroglossus bitorquatus is remarkable, not only for its beauty and elegance of form, but also for its extreme rarity. The only individuals I have ever had an opportunity of examining, were, the specimen from which the original description was taken; a second, similar in all its characters to the former, which was kindly transmitted for my inspection by Lord Stanley ; and a third in the Museum at Berlin: the last differed in one point from the preceding ones, in wanting the yellow pectoral band, the black edging of the chestnut throat being succeeded by scarlet ; whether this slight difference is to be regarded as dependent upon sex, age, or season, or whether it is an accidental circumstance, the limited knowledge I possess of the species prevents my being able to ascertain with satisfaction. In point of affinity it is somewhat allied to the Preroglossus ulocomus, possessing as it does a style of colouring extremely similar ; and the head, although destitute of the curled appendages, is covered with black feathers differing from the rest of the plumage, the shafts being glossy and bristle-like. This affinity is by no means surprising, as we might naturally expect that a character so remarkable as the curled crest of the P. ulocomus would not be given to one species without traces appearing in different degrees in others, abrupt- ness even in the slightest details being ever repugnant to nature ; and, relying upon these principles, we may reasonably anticipate the discovery of species forming a regular graduated series. Inhabits Guiana and the Spanish Main. - ry vs Vogt os . ay ee, pet > Ee Neal | ew Sallie aS NalP >) at a> \ lcd wap AaOe a ties ae al Fis (titrivils Araca IEW. vanded 7s | mane eS rrertey | TET EEE ee PTEROGLOSSUS AZARA, Wagier. Banded Aracari. Speciric CHARACTER. Pter. rostro stramineo ; mandibula superiore pallidiore, nigro serrata: olivaceo-viridis ; capite : : A A : : ee ee : Nigro ; auribus guldque saturate castaneis, hac nigro postice cincta; gutture coccineo ; torque pectoralt lata, anticé nigra, posticé angusteé coccinea ; ventre flavo ; crisso coccineo. Bill clear straw yellow, the upper mandible being the palest, and the serratures of its edges marked by dashes of black; top of the head and occiput black; throat and ear-coverts deep mahogany brown, below which extends a semilunar band of black ; to this succeeds a broad belt of scarlet, followed by a similar band of jet black, to this again a narrow band of scarlet; thighs olive green; the rest of the under surface yellow ; upper surface olive green, with the exception of the rump, which is scarlet. Total length, 15 inches. L Aragari Azara. Levaill., Ois. de Parad., Supp. p. 40. t. A. [cited by Wagler. ] Ramphastos Azara. Vieill., Nouv. Dict. d Hist. Nat., t. 34. p. 282. Pteroglossus Azarw. Wagler, Syst. Avium. Two examples of this truly beautiful Aragari adorn the national museum of France, which, with one in the Munich collection, are, as far as I have been able to ascertain, the only specimens in Europe. In the year 1825, M. Vieillot published a figure and description of this bird taken, as he himself informs us, from a single individual in the gallery of the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle; from which it is apparent that the second specimen alluded to, and which is by far the finest, as M. Vieillot’s figure proves, has been subsequently acquired. From the extreme rarity in England of the Supplement to Levaillant’s Work, cited by Wagler as containing a figure of this bird, I have never been able to see the Plate referred to. I visited Paris purposely to inspect and make a drawing of the specimens of this rare bird, in order to assure myself of their specific value, and their relative affinities in the group to which they belong. The alternate bands of red and black which ornament the breast, together with the uniform colour of the bill, the serratures of which alone are marked out with black, at once distinguish it from every other Pteroglossus. It may, however, be observed, that in the specimen from which M. Vieillot took his figure, a broad dusky dash extends from the base of the upper mandible nearly two thirds of its length, diminishing as it proceeds towards the point. It is not clear to me that this indistinct mark is not the indication of an immature bird, or it may perhaps be caused by some decomposition after death, the rest of the colouring being neither so fine nor so brilliant. I would also remark, that the lower band of scarlet is only slightly indicated. The nearest allied species at present discovered is the Pteroglossus bitorquatus; but from this it may at once be distinguished by the alternate bands across the chest. Wagler informs us that the habitat of this bird is Brazil, where it is extremely rare. \ ae Sei a ae Sls wa ee ee a ey e pF ae tll. Aue cli lla oD, ili tole fi! E> Ast Bs ld UU LGCATTTUAN ATTA Y i” y " omy MT | vrs i} | EEE eee ets ye ney PTEROGLOSSUS VIRIDIS, Swainson. Green Aracari. SpecrFic CHARACTER. ave jee es a - 5 5 os oy : IN Ny Se : < : . Mas. Pter. rostro magno ; mandibuld superiore culmine sordideé citrino, subtis lined longitudinali nigra a lateribus aurantiaco-flavis discreto ; mandibula inferiore violaced, ad basin rosed : olivaceo-viridis ; subtus luteus ; capite colloque nigris ; crisso coccineo. Foem. Capite colloque castaneis. Male. Beak large, culmen regularly arched of a dull lemon yellow, beneath which runs a longitudinal streak of black ; the lower portion of the upper mandible orange yellow; the : lower mandible violet blue with a roseate base; bare space round the eye, and the legs rass green; the whole of the head and throat deep black; wings, back, and tail olive ae green ; rump scarlet ; under surface greenish yellow. Female. Differs from the male only in having those parts chestnut brown which in the male are black. Total length, 14 inches; beak, 32; wing, 4+; taal, 5; tarsus, 1+. Green Toucan. Lath., Syn., 1. 331. Toucan verd de Cayenne. Tucana Cayanensis viridis. Briss., Ois., 4. 423. pl. 33. fig. 1. Id., Orn., 2. 162. Pl. Enl. 727. mas., 728. foem. Pteroglossus viridis. Swains., Zool. Illust., vol. 3. pl. 169. Tue male of this species has been figured by Mr. Swainson in his ‘‘ Zoological Illustrations,” and depending on the usual accuracy with which that gentleman delineates his subjects, I am able to add, from his drawing, the natural colouring of the bill and soft parts which ornament the living bird, but which fades almost immediately after death, rendering the specimens in our cabinets far less vivid and beautiful than when seen in a state of nature. The natural habitat of P. virzdis appears to be Demerara and the adjacent northern countries of tropical America. In these parts it is numerously distributed, and is, in fact, one of the commonest species of the genus, there being few collections in Europe without examples of both sexes. It will be seen that the present species fully illustrates the character which pervades many of the Aracaris, viz. the circumstance of the female having those parts chestnut which in the male are of a glossy black. The specific term viridis, applied to this bird, which possesses so many colours, is somewhat inapplicable. The robust bill, and the peculiar style of colouring which pervades that organ, easily distinguish it from every ONS: wa Ae other species. Inhabits Demerara, Guiana, &c. ee SS caer: elie 5 lll | J ‘ b> lh Neal | alles! wali, bl lds a aoe are L\ SY al eet a Aad Neal The: I eGIel AQ N wy oe ¢ 3 ea a Ith 5 nym 4| | 3 HINT AAU ATTTTAN yy ee #23 - es = = = cf MEME EET EIri bed, : Me TP eo cat re i — be y a oo pp OO ETE ETE PTEROGLOSSUS MACULIROSTRIS, Lichtenstein. Spotted-bill Aracari. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Mas. ter. rostro abbreviato, cinerascente, in olivaceum ad culmen vergente; mandibula superiore ad latera maculis transversis nigris wregulariter fasciata : supra saturate viridis ; corpore infra, capite, nucha, collique lateribus aterrimts, nitidis ; gents bimaculatis, maculé supervore sulphured, inferiore aurantiacd ; fascia lunata cervicali sulphured ; caudé olivaceo- viredi, rectricibus sea intermediis rufo apiculatis ; tectricibus caudce enferioribus cocciners ; abdomine imo Semoribusque croceo, sulphureo, viridique variegatis. Poem. Corpore infra, capite, nucha, collique lateribus castanets ; macularum genarum superiore sordidé sulphured, inferiore obscuré viridi-brunned. Male. Beak short, pale grey or whitish inclining to olive on the culmen; the sides of the upper mandible irregularly barred with large transverse patches of black; the head, nape, sides of the neck, throat, chest, and middle of the belly, deep shining black; on the cheeks are situated two tufts of feathers ; the lower one, which is of a primrose yellow, forms the ear- coverts, and the other, which proceeds from the rictus, is orange; the beak, whole of the upper surface, and wings, deep sap green inclining to olive, divided from the black of the nape by a crescent-shaped band of primrose yellow ; tail olive green, the six middle feathers tipped with rufous ; the lower part of the abdomen has a mixture of saffron and primrose yellow intermingled with oil green, which prevails especially on the thighs; under tail- coverts scarlet; legs and feet lead colour. Female. Somewhat less than the male, and differing considerably in plumage, having the head, nape, sides of the neck, throat, and breast, chestnut instead of black; the ear-coverts of a less lively yellow, and the tufts of feathers proceeding from the rictus of an obscure greenish brown. Total length, 12 inches; beak, 2+; wing, 4%; tail, 5; tarsus, 1%. L’Aracari Koulik du Brésil. Le Vaill., Ois. de Parad., vol. 2. p. 45. t. 15. Male. Ibid., Suppl., p. 41. fig. A A. Pteroglossus maculatus. Jard. & Selby, Illus. of Ornith., vol. 1. pl. 26. LT) Aracari a bec tacheté ; Ramphastos maculatus. Vieill., Gal. des Ois., tom. 2. Tue Spotted-bill Aragari may be readily distinguished from all other known species by the abbreviated form of its beak, and the distinct but irregular spots of black on the upper mandible, whence is derived its specific name maculirostris. As the object in employing any distinguishing term should be to point out most readily some prominent specific character, I have been induced to adopt the name given to this species by M. Lichtenstein, prior to the one (maculatus) assigned to it by Vieillot. Unlike the true Toucans, the sexes of many species of the P¢erogdoss? will be observed to present consider- able difference in the colour of the plumage,—a fact which is forcibly illustrated in the present bird ; the female possessing a rich chestnut-coloured head and breast, while the same parts in the male are deep shining black : this, however, is not characteristic of the whole genus, nor is it to be observed in any other species in so remarkable a degree. The scarcity of information which had been obtained respecting this species, until within these few years, has been the cause of considerable confusion as regards the identity of the sexes. Among other instances we may notice Dr. Latham, who, in his laborious work, ‘‘ The General History of Birds,” has described and ? figured the female as a distinct species under the name of ‘‘ Janeiro Toucan”: moreover, he appears to have adoube whether it may not be the female of the peperivorous species,—a bird differing in many of its characters. The P. maculirostris is supposed to be strictly confined to the Brazils, as it is from thence alone that it has been received. It is to be regretted that no information can be added respecting its natural habits ; in all probability they differ in minor details from those of the Pterog/ossi of the same size, but which have beaks more enlarged in dimensions, though less powerful, than the short, thick, and strong bill of the present species. Inhabits the Brazils. PTEROGLOSSUS NATTERERII. Natterer’s Aracari. Sprciric CHARACTER. Mas. Pter. rostro rubro, ad apicem. flavescenti-albido, lined culminali, maculé. ad latera utriusque mandibule, maculaque supra singulart serraturam nigris, serraturis albis : capite supra, gul, ay s a e guttureque nigris; fasced nuchali pallide flav; dorso alusque saturate olivaceis ; rectricum sex intermediarum apicibus castaneis ; lateribus Jlavis, in castaneum ad femora transeuntibus ; caudee tectricibus inferioribus coccineis. aye Y 5 a 7 x 7 7 > sds > Tourel ye a - een ys 4 ees Foem. Capite supra, gula, guttureque pallide castaneis ; regione parotica pallide flavescenti-viridi ; dorso pallidiore. Male. Bill red, with the exception of a line of black on the culmen, a spot on the side of each mandible, and a small irregular mark of the same colour above each of the serratures, which are white; the point yellowish white ; top of the head, occiput, throat, and breast black; ear-coverts pale yellow; a lunar-shaped band of the same colour separates the black of the occiput from the back, which, with the wings, is of a dark olive; tips of the six middle tail-feathers chestnut; flanks yellow, passing into chestnut on the thighs ; under tail-coverts scarlet. Female. All those parts light chestnut which in the male are black ; the green on the back less deep, and the ear-coverts pale yellowish green ; in other respects the colouring is the same. ‘Total length, 133 inches; dz//, 22; wings, 5+; tail, 5; tarsi, 14. Pteroglossus Nattereri, Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., Part II. Auruoucu I have at all times endeavoured to avoid the imposing of a specific title on a new species which did not convey some idea connected with its form or colouring, I have been induced to deviate from this rule in the present instance from the earnest desire I feel to pay a just tribute of respect to a most enthusiastic and able naturalist, through whose personal exertions in the Brazilian forests for the period of eighteen years so vast a collection has been transmitted to the capital of that country by the munificence of whose Govern- ment he was enabled to prosecute his researches; and I would here beg to offer my acknowledgements to M. Schreibers, the highly talented director of the Imperial Museum of Vienna, for the liberal manner in which he permitted me to examine the birds of this group contained in the collection under his care, and to add to my monograph a representation of this rare species. I am not aware of the precise locality in which this fine bird was obtained, but from the circumstance of its having accompanied other specimens from that part of Brazil which borders the river Amazon, it may reasonably be believed to be a native of the woods of those districts. In point of affinity it is closely allied to the Preroglossus maculatus, and with that bird and several others it will form a separate and well-defined group, possessing many peculiar characters. = I gm ii — | ‘4 my jill ler PTEROGLOSSUS REINWARDTII, Wag Reinwardt’s Aracari. Specific CHARACTER. Pter. rostri dimidio basali: sordideé rufescenti-aurantiaco, culmine apiceque nigrescenti-brunneis : capite, collo, gula, guttureque nigris ; regione narotica fascia h no OCI. Lprte, 8 » gu gq 12 3 2 L sciaque nucham cingente auruntiaces, hac pallidiore ; dorso saturate olivaceo-viridi brunneo tincto ; lateribus aurantiacis castaneo tinctis ; caude tectrictbus inferioribus coccineis ; remgibus nigrescenti-brunneis 3 rectricibus quatuor imtermediis castaneo spiculatis ; orbite pedesque veridescenti-plumbei. Bill dull reddish orange for the basal half of its length, the culmen and up blackish brown; head, neck, throat, and chest black; ear-coverts bright orange ; a semilunar band sur- rounds the nape of the same colour, but somewhat lighter; whole of the remaining parts of the upper surface dark olive green tinged with brown; quills blackish brown ; four middle tail-feathers slightly tipped with chestnut brown ; flanks deep orange, unged with chestnut ; thighs light brown ; under tail-coverts crimson ; feet and naked skin round the eyes greenish lead colour. Total length, 12 to 13 inches ; bell, 2: ; wings, 5; tatl, 5%; tarsi, 12. Pteroglossus Reinwardtii, Wagler, Syst. Aviam. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., Part III. Tue individual from which the accompanying figure was taken is in the Royal Museum at Munich, and is, I believe, the only specimen in the collections of Europe. I candidly own that before I had the opportunity of inspecting it I entertained some doubts as to its real specific value, the description given by Wagler having induced me to suspect it might be only a variety or an immature specimen of Pter. Kulik ; it will be evident, however, on comparing the present Plate with that of Pter. Kulik that my suspicions were unfounded, the bird under consideration having marks which will at once prove it to be a distinct species. At present nothing further can be said respecting its history than that it is a native of Brazil, a country constantly calling forth our admiration by the frequent receipt of new and beautiful productions. I have coloured the bill as it appeared in the specimen from which the drawing was taken, yet there is every reason to suppose that this organ was of a much brighter hue. It appears to be more nearly allied to Pter. Nattereri than to any other; yet, upon comparing the two, it 8 and the ear-coverts being entirely orange, while in several specimens of Pter. Nattereri which I had the will be found to present good distinguishing characteristics, the bill being different in its form and markings, opportunity of examining, the same parts were pale lemon yellow, with a slight tinge of brown at the lower extremity ; the semilunar mark on the back and the flanks also differ considerably. In the present species the four middle tail-feathers are tipped with brown, while in Pter. Nattereri six have this mark. Aracar.. Kouhk 3 4 5 2 : E ong HOR OKEROKG RHR H KH KOS. PTEROGLOSSUS CULIK, Wagler. Koulik Aracari. Speciric CHARACTER. Mas. Pter. rostro negro, basin versus in rubrum transeunte : olwvaceo-viridis, ventre castaneo varegato ; capite, collo, pectoreque nigris ; auribus lunulaque dorsali flavis ; caudee tectricibus enfertortbus cocciners ; rectricibus ad apices castaneis. Fem. Lunulé dorsali nullé ; cervice sordide castaneé ; Jugulo pectoreque obscure ceruleo-canis, Male. Beak black, gradually passing off into red at the base; naked space round the eye and the tarsus dark lead colour; top of the head, occiput, throat, and breast black ; ear-coverts and a crescent-shaped band on the top of the back yellow ; lower part of the belly olive green mixed with chestnut; under tail-coverts scarlet; the whole of the upper surface olive green, the tail-feathers being tipped with chestnut. Female. Resembles the male in her general plumage, but wants the yellow semilunar band on the top of the back ; has the back of the neck dull chestnut ; and the throat and breast obscure lavender grey. 4, Total length, 12 to 13 inches; Sel/, 23; wing, 4+; tail, 4+; tarsz, 14. Green Toucan. Edw., vol. 3. pl. 330. Toucan a collier de Caj. Buff., Pl. Enl. n. 577. Ramphastos piperworus. Auct. L Aragari Koultk de la Guyane. Leyaill., Ois. de Parad., vol. 2. p. 41. pl. 13. Pteroglossus Culik. Wagler, Syst. Avium. ————— Reinwardti? Ibid. Langsdorffix? Ibid. Tue rich countries of Cayenne and Guiana are the native habitats of this interesting and elegant species of Aragari, where, I am informed, it has obtained the name of Koulik, from the peculiarity of its cry. It appears to be somewhat local in its distribution, as I have never received it either from Brazil or the Spanish Main. It is a species easily distinguished from every other by a slight attention to the detail of its colouring, the male being remarkable for his black breast and the semilunar band between the shoulders, and the female for the chaste colouring of her breast and under parts. Inhabits Cayenne and Guiana. Neel ay i Meine ii ee aN iia, Lo gato SP it HG Tht H¢ Pid fa a PTEROGLOSSUS LANGSDORFFITI, Wage Langsdorff’s Aragari. ‘ler. Sprcirric CHaractrer. Pter. rostro nigrescenti-hrunneo, prope basin in cinereo-olivace vertice, collo, gula, guttureque nigris ; dorso, alis, rectricumque bast saturate olivaceo-viridihus brunneo tinctis, harum apicibus lateribus oliwaceis castaneo tinctis 3 tectricibus caude enferioribu plumber. Bill blackish brown for three parts of its length from the tip, fading into dark greyish olive at the base, more extended over the under mandible; serratures whitish ; top of the head, back of the neck, throat, and breast black ; ear-coverts and nuchal band rich orange yellow ; whole of the upper surface, Wings, and upper portion of the tail-feathers dark greenish olive tinged with brown; flanks rich olive tinged with chestnut brown : thighs uniform brown ; under tail-coverts dull crimson ; legs and feet lead colour. Total length, about 133 inches ; Sill, Q7; wong, 53; tars, 14. 45 Pteroglossus Langsdorffii, Wagler, Syst. Avium. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc. Part III. Tue robust form and nearly uniform colouring of the bill are perhaps the most prominent features by which ) S ] I ; this species may be distinguished from several others, which possess alike the lunated collar and richly ear-coverts. coloured A single example of this bird, to all appearance fully adult, forms a part of the Munich coll ection, and is, I believe, the individual from which the late Dr. Wagler took the descri ption in the monograph of this family, published in his small but useful work the « Systema Avium.” I regret to add that I found the tail of this specimen so much mutilated as to render it unsafe to figure more of this or Plate. In size the present bird is somewhat larger than the Pter. maculirostris ; gan than is represented in the its ear-coverts, nuchal band, and flanks are also much brighter in colour than the corresponding parts in that species. The only information I could obtain respecting this rare species was that it is a native of Brazil, from which country it was received many years since. um transeunte, serraturis albidis : : oe oo : ; regione parotica Sasciaque nuchal aurantiaco-flacis s 8 sordideé coccineis ; pedes ~~ oy y ey wt ih a Sie 8 2 t Lk Na 2 a 2 at NN ted il 5 | | DU 3] 4 HIM 2 iii heneshetsiiciba i Se aA Eee : 5 PTEROGLOSSUS ULOCOMUS. Curl-crested Aracari. Specrric CHARACTER. Pter. rostro elongato, mandibulis albo serratis, ad basin Jascid angusté castaned circumdatis ; zk © . . . A aN A . . 5 e supervoris culmine aurantiaco lined sordidé ceruled utrenque marginato, lateribus aurantio- rubris ; inferiore stramined, in aurantiacum ad apicem vergente ; naribus lined albé cinctis : plumis capitis, genarum, nucheque foliiferis, illius crispis negris, harum spatulatis, genarum stramineis nigro apiculatis ; cervice, dorso, pectorisque lateribus coccineis; alis, caudé, Semoribusque olivaceis ; remigibus brunneis ; guld, pectore, abdominis medio crissoque._flaves- centibus, pectoris plumis coccineo marginatis. — Beak lengthened, both mandibles edged with thickly set white serratures ; the upper has the culmen orange, bordered by a narrow longitudinal stripe of dull blue extending nearly to the tip, below which the sides of the mandible are fine orange red; a white line surrounds the apertures of the nostrils; the under mandible is straw-coloured, becoming orange at the tip; a narrow band of rich chestnut encircles both mandibles at their base ; crown of the head covered with a crest of curled metal-like feathers, without barbs, of an intense black and very glossy; as they approach the occiput these appendages gradually lose their curled character and become straight, narrow and spatulate. The feathers of the cheeks have the latter form, but are more decidedly spatulate ; their colour is yellowish white, each having its extremity tipped with black; occiput and upper tail-coverts deep blood red ; chest delicate yellow, with slight crescent-shaped bars of red; sides yellow richly stained with red ; back, tail and thighs olive green; quills brown; tarsi lead colour. Total length, 18 inches ; bill, 4; wings, 5%; tacl, 7+; tarsi, 2. Pteroglossus ulocomus. Gould, Proceedings of the Zool. Soc., Part 1. p. 38. ABUNDANT as are the treasures which science has received from the Brazils, the valuable addition of this beautiful bird to our ornithological stores, further illustrates the riches of that luxuriant portion of tropical America, and also confirms the opinion long entertained, that there are yet many rarities to be discovered in its extensive forests. Although our collections already abound with the productions of districts adjacent to cities and of easy access, such is not the case as it regards the almost unexplored districts of the interior, whence we only occasionally derive specimens, proving how much we are yet ignorant of, and how much remains for future discovery. Interested as I have always been with this singular family, it was with no small degree of pleasure that I hailed the arrival of so fine a species, particularly as it offers to our observance in the covering of its head a feature entirely new among the Preroglossi. I regret that it is beyond the efforts of our pencil to do strict justice to the rich appearance of these glossy and curiously curled appendages, which in substance can only be compared to the metal-like feathers found in some species of the Galling,—the extreme ends of the neck- and wing-feathers of the Gallus Sonnerati, Temm., for instance. This structure appears to consist in a dilatation of the shaft of each feather, or perhaps an agglutination of the web into one mass. Two examples of this species formed part of a collection of rare birds brought to this country from Rio de Janeiro. Of these I was so fortunate as to obtain the finest, which is in all probability a male: it is now in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London. The other, which is considered a female, is preserved in the British Museum. The habitat of this species is probably in the almost untrodden forests which border the river Amazon, as, since the arrival of the pair alluded to, I have seen a third, having a label attached intimating that it was received from Para. It IED aE x Se : : ; ~ bisa 2 $24 - ' TETEIEIECECES pO | ai \ ss PTEROGLOSSUS HYPOGLAUCUS. Grey-breasted Aracari. Sprecrric CHARACTER. Pter. mandibulis lined flacd hasali circumdatis, maculaque triangulart subbasali nigra plagaque flava nigro marginaté notatis ; supervoris culmine lateribusque antrorsum saturate sanguinets ; eferiore, nist basin versus, atra: olivaceo-brunneus, subtus ceeruleo-canus 3 capite caudaque nigris, rectricibus quatuor intermedis ad apwem brunneis ; remigum pogoniis externis veridibus, imternis hrunnets ; uropygio lutescente ; tectricibus caudce superioribus viridi- olwaceis, nferrtoribus coccineis. Beak; the upper mandible edged on its basal aspect with a narrow line of yellow succeeded by a triangular spot of black, an irregular mark of yellow next succeeds edged by a line of black, the culmen and the remainder of the sides deep blood red ; the basal half of the lower mandible has the yellow and black colouring of the upper, but terminates in deep black instead of red; crown of the head and occiput black; back, shoulders, and thighs rich olive brown ; outer edges of the quills green; inner brown ; rump light greenish yellow ; upper tail-coverts greenish olive ; tail black, the four middle feathers tipped with brown; under tail-coverts scarlet ; whole of the neck, chest, and under parts silvery grey. Total length, 181 inches; beak, 4 long, depth, 13, breadth at base, 11; wing, 6%; tail, 7; tarsus, 1%. Pteroglossus hypoglaucus. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., part 1. p. 70. Iv the disposition of its markings, and the general colour and texture of its plumage, this singular Aracari differs remarkably from all others yet discovered ; the beak being more brilliant, and the plumage of the body less ostentatious and gaudy. Nor does it present a less striking difference in its habitat, all the other species being found in the lower and warmer regions, while according to information received from an authentic source, the Grey-breasted Aragari inhabits the mountains, and is to be found only on the highest wooded portions of the Andes, for which elevated and cold situations the full and downy texture of its plumage, so different from the close feathering of the Aragaries in general, admirably adapts it. The specific name given to this bird relates to the beautiful silvery lustre which prevades the fine grey tints spread over the breast and under surface. This interesting bird, with many other valuable specimens of Ornithology, was sent to me by my esteemed and valued correspondent D. Christie, Esq., of Popayan, Columbia; and I here gladly avail myself of the opportunity of testifying my sincere acknowledgements for the many favours received, as also for much important information. As I have never met with this bird in the museums of this country or in those I have visited on the Continent, and Dr. Latham’s notice of a ‘‘ Blue-throated Toucan” being too vague and unsatisfactory to afford any tangible data, I have every reason for concluding this species to have been hitherto undescribed. Of the two specimens received, one is deposited in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London. Inbabits Columbia. [ (Waésler WaAGaiel . 5 } ‘ed [ I 5 mn a nT mM un a} 2 TEE atid: PTEROGLOSSUS BAILLONI, Wagter. Saffron-coloured Aracari. Speciric CHARACTER. Pter. rostro medtocri, arcuato; lutescenti, basin versus sub-olivaceo : Sronte, genis, gula, corpore- A ; que subtus preter femora croceis ; corpore supra, alts, cauda, Semoribusque olivaceo-viridi- bus aureo parti tinctis ; uropygio coccineo ; pedibus tarsisque plumbeis. Beak moderate, arched, of a greenish yellow, approaching to olive at the base; the front of the head, the cheeks, the throat, and the whole of the under surface, with the exception of the thighs, rich saffron yellow; the upper parts of the body, wings, tail and thighs, olive green slightly shaded with golden yellow; rump scarlet; feet and legs lead colour. Total length, including the bill, from 14 to 16 inches; S/d, 2+ to 3¢. Preroglossus Bailloni. Wagler, Systema Avium. IL Aracari Baillion. Le Vaill., Ois. de Parad., tom. 2. p. 44. t. 18. Ramphastos Baillont. Vieill., Nouv. Dict. d@ Hist. Nat., p- 283. Pteroglossus croccus. Jard. & Selby, Ill. of Ornith., vol. 1. pl. 6. Tuts richly coloured species was so little known in our collections a few years since, that Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby were induced to figure it in their “Illustrations of Ornithology” as a bird new to science, under the name of Preroglossus croceus. The circumstance, however, of its having been previously described and figured in other works, prevents my adopting the very appropriate name given to it by those gentlemen. The numerous acquisitions we have derived from the Brazils during the last few years have made us more familiar with this bird; and although I am unable to give any particulars as to its habits and manners in a state of nature, I can affirm with certainty that, unlike many of the Preroglossi, the sexes do not offer that difference in the colour of the plumage so characteristic of many species of this genus; in fact no outward difference except in size is observable, the female being a trifle less than the male in all her propor- tions. In point of beauty and elegance of form, the Saffron-coloured Aracari is somewhat conspicuous, particularly in the sweeping breadth of rich golden yellow which pervades the breast and all the under parts. Its habitat appears to be somewhat local, all the examples I have seen being from the Brazils. Bx oer ty) u rE ETE ips «eee We x NA eet |] al ti BE Seid qT pet et r a ad $ eae zr COT) bE S Pid Pl ted > 4 oF 5 TIVETTAVTY ATTN 4 3 rm ERE PTEROGLOSSUS PRASINUS, Lichtenstein. Golden-green Aracari. Speciric Cuaracrer. - — oe a a a 7 ee Pter. mandibula superiore flaca, culminis st wa, macula ante nares, linedique ad tomium nigris ; ; BIN ee 4 a ; ae o> + pantrnetol 5 | , enferiore negra, fascia basalt flava : Supra aureo-virrdis, in ceruleum ad remiges et ad rectrices extrorsum transiens, harum apicibus rufo-brunneis ; gens gulaque cinereis ; pectore ceru- lescenti-v1) edi, in vwiridem postice transeunte ; tectricibus caudce enfercoribus rufis. Juvenis. Mandibuld superiore ad basin rufo nebulos& versus apicem in flavum et lutescentem vergente ; inferiore tota negra : abdomine quam in adulto obscuriore. Upper mandible yellow with a black line along the culmen, a black spot before the nostrils, and a dash of the same colour along the edge; under mandible black with a basal border of yellow; upper surface golden green, passing into blue on the quills and lower half of the tail-feathers, which are tppped with rufous brown; naked skin round the eyes dull blueish green; cheeks and throat grey; breast blueish green, passing into green beneath ; lower tail-coverts rufous ; tarsi lead colour. In the immature bird the abdomen is the same though less bright ; but the upper mandible is clouded at its base with reddish, passing insensibly into yellow and greenish at the point ; under mandible black. Total length, 13 inches; bill, 3. Tue naturalist has often to observe, that Nature never proceeds abru ptly in the formation of her groups, but prepares a passage from one to another by a series of interve ning gradations, embodying, though in a minor degree, the distinguishing characteristics of the two sections to which they form the connecting link: such is the case with the species before us. In my description of the Pterogdossus sulcatus, Y hinted that at a future day it would in all probability constitute the type of a new genus; this division would be characterized by an attenuated and channelled bill, together with a more subdued and uniform style of colouring, and a short, graduated tail. To this form the Golden-green Aragari appears, at the first glance, with propriety be placed there in a strictly systematic arrangement ; a more indicates its relationship, in an equal degree, to the more genuine Preroglossi. channelled, is only slightly so, and approaches that of the Aragaries in breadth an tips of the tail-feathers and under tail-coverts, as in most of that genus, ar to be related, and might attentive examination, however, The bill, for instance, though d general dimensions ; and the e rufous brown. The Preroglossus prasinus is exceedingly rare; indeed, I know but of one museum in Europe possessing specimens, namely, that of Berlin ; and I am indebted to the kindness and liberality of Professor Lichtenstein, who first made it known to science, for permission to examine and make drawings of the unique examples under his immediate care,—a favour for which, among many others, I beg to express my warmest thanks, and at the same time acknowledge my obligations. Of the habits and ceconomy of the Golden-green Aracari, as distinguished in the minuter details from those of its race, I have no information to communicate ; there is, however, one fact, as the Plate will show, sufficiently illustrated, namely, the change which the beak undergoes, not only in size, but also in colouring, during ilie progress of the bird from youth to maturity,—a change not peculiar to this species alone, but characteristic of the whole family ; and I may add, that it is from a want of sufficient attention to this circum- stance, that many mistakes and much confusion have arisen. As regards the development of the beak, I may observe, that it is much more gradual than that of the rest of the body; for when the latter has acquired its complete dimensions, the former is little more than a third of the size it is afterwards to attain. Inhabits Mexico. bt Tr: Pre Pi cx a ee ae ape a 5 3 Tre: en eed bl 5 fy wt eet Cy, Ay i . 5: Wagler ) ee ) KH a P= Z — D k > O al A ha ol oO = 0 o AY 5 mgm 4 AUT I 2 ons] —| RCE eet ee ea ee ¥ iain 2 3 PTEROGLOSSUS PAVONINUS. Peacock Groove-bil] Aracari. UKE i Ese Specific CHaracter. ae S06 4 Se 7 - oO . : "3 oO 5 5 oy y 5 5 - Pter. rostro nie7o, ad basin lined aurantiaco-flacd cercundato, lateribus (nese basin versus) flavis superneé in ceruleo-viridem transeuntibus infra line A . A . . . . a nera a tomo sequnetis: prasinus, subtus pallidior tectricibus caudcee enferioribus rectricumque apicibus brunnets ; remigibus nigrescenti- brunneis ; orbite rubre : pedes plumber. pS Bill black, with the exception of two thirds of the upper mandible (measuring from the point), which has the central portion of the sides fine yellow, on the upper fading into rich blue cs bt ot ry “ene green, on the lower, which is separated from the dentition line by a narrow stripe of black, the base of both mandibles surrounded by a line of orange yellow; the whole of the THIET. upper and under surface, with the exception of the under tail-coverts and the tip of the tail-feathers which are brown, is of a rich grass green, paler on the throat and under sur- eux face ; quills blackish brown; bare skin round the eve red; feet lead colour. Total length, 13 to 14 inches; ill, nearly 3+; wing, 5t; tail, 5+; tarsi, 14. poco Pteroglossus pavoninus, Label in Royal Museum, Munich. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., Part III. £3 ETE. Tus species is even more diminutive in each of its relative parts than P¢er. Prasinus, which, as well as the present bird, is a native of Mexico. Independently of its less size, it may be distinguished from its near ally by the peculiar form and marking of the bill, the basal portion of which is entirely surrounded by black ; and a beautiful green and yellow colour is spread over the sides of the upper mandible. No other specimen than the one contained in the collection at Munich has come under my notice; a label bearing the name of Prer. ED rm pavoninus was attached to this example; and it would appear to have been a recent acquisition, from the circumstance of its not being noticed in the valuable Monograph of Dr. Wagler, who met an untimely death ed m4 £2 ed a about two years since while on a shooting excursion near Munich; in passing through a hedge with a loaded gun, the muzzle of which was directed towards his body, it unfortunately exploded, and we regret to add caused a speedy termination to the worldly cares of a man whose numerous works and great abilities had rendered him one of the most scientific naturalists of the age. SE a Es v y fy i ¥ q ‘ > ee ee ers cv; SS Bt my ARS L-bill \racari Grad VeC I 5 = Ee HANAN 11 omy PLESESECELET ECE CES PIP OL iP IPE rire ry. F. rE — | titi oti tcc L Lt | PTR Et hl bat het hat het cal Stet : : 3 Meet eee tee eee ee oye aR Die Brenan soc AD AD sre hemes j Rear ba PTEROGLOSSUS SULCATUS, Swainson. Grooved-bill Aracari. SpecirFic CHARACTER. Pter. rostro attenuato; mandibulis compressis, sulcatis, superioris sulcis utringue duobus, inferroris unico ; supervore nigra, culmine apiceque saturate rufo-brunneis ; infertore nigra, ad basin sanguinea: viridis, subtis pallidior ; jugulo cinerascente ; gens ceruleis. Cc Beak attenuated, curved, and ending in a sharp point at the tip; mandibles compressed, the upper having two deep channels and the lower a single one on each side ; base of the lower mandible blood red; the culmen and up deep rufous brown, the remaining portion black. Feathers covering the cheeks cceerulean blue. The whole of the upper surface green, as is the under also, but somewhat lighter, and inclining to grey under the throat. Total length, from 11 to 13 inches ; dil/, 3 to 34; tarsus, 14. Pteroglossus sulcatus. Swains., in Journ. of Roy. Inst., vol. 9. p. 267. and in Zool. Illus., vol. 1. pl. 44. Temm., PI. Col., pl. 356. Tuis interesting species of Preroglossus was first introduced to science by Mr. Swainson, who informs us it was received by him from the Spanish Main. Subsequently to the description which appeared in the “‘ Journal of the Royal Institution,” and the accurate figure given by Mr. Swainson in his “ Zoological Illustrations,” a second Plate of this bird has been published by M. Temminck in his ‘‘ Planches Coloriées.” Although many years have elapsed since the introduction of this bird, I am still unable to add any information to that already furnished by those able naturalists, its extreme rarity having hitherto precluded all possibility of ascertaining any particulars respecting its natural habits and manners. The great difference which the Pteroglossus sulcatus presents in the formation of its bill, together with some other characters, lead me to suspect that it will hereafter be found to constitute the type of a separate group, allied, in many important points, to the Barbets (Bucco): I am, however, restrained at present from instituting a new genus for its reception by the consideration that little information is as yet obtained respect- ing its habits, manners and general ceconomy. The two birds from which the figures were taken, and which are at present in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London, are considered to be male and female: should this ultimately prove to be the case, the sexes will offer no external difference except in size, the female being somewhat the least. Inhabits the Spanish Main and Guiana. RE KER G 24d id a ™~ f hid rz sg N a 4d Ne y ete 5 De i ig 24 as Try 3 Aracari. S ¢ Ni Grox wve-bill Derl | 5 IUUUATVUTTAVTTT UHI gy Hil 2 cu | UVUUTI)UULI ETE EEE Es PIPERS EEEIE LY > PTEROGLOSSUS DERBIANUS., The Earl of Derby’s Aragari. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. a. a : ; Pter. rostro castaneo, antice in brunnescenti-nigrum transeunte, ad basin fascia angusta, flavescenti- “7A . sae \ : C c ye 5 albida cincto : viridis, supra brunneo parum tinctus ; capite cerulescenti-viridi ; remigibus gibus nigrescenti-brunnets ; rectricum intermediarum duarum apictbus castaneis; orhite rufo- brunnee ; tarsi ceruleo-plumber. Bill rich chestnut, passing into deep brownish black on the middle of the upper and the anterior portion of the lower mandibles, the sides of the base of both having a narrow band of yellowish white ; the upper surface of the body green, with a slight tinge of brown; all the remaining plumage green, with the exception of the back of the head and neck, which are strongly tinged with blue, the primaries, which are blackish brown, and the lips of the two middle tail-feathers, which are chestnut : space round the eyes reddish brown ; tarsi blueish lead colour. Total length, 142 to 15 inches ; bill, 32; wings, 5; tail, 5; tarsi, 14. 5 Aulacirhynchus Derbianus. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., Part ITI. p. 49. For the loan of the only example of this fine species which has come under my notice I am indebted to the kindness of the Earl of Derby, whose valuable collection has so often afforded me the opportunity of examining rare and new species. In naming this new bird after so distinguished and honourable an individual, I am influenced partly by the interest which His Lordship takes in the promulgation of science, especially orni- thology, and partly by the desire I feel to testify my respect and gratitude. As far as I have been able to ascertain, this species is an inhabitant of the Cordillerian Andes, from which country it came, although by an indirect channel, into the possession of Lord Derby, who kindly forwarded it to me for the purpose of its being figured and described. It differs from Preroglossus sulcatus (the only known species with which it is likely to be confounded) in being more robust in size, and in having a more powerful and less attenuated bill, the basal angle of which is not carried near so far back as in Péer. sulcatus: the brown tips of the middle tail-feathers of the present species, a character never seen in P. sulcatus, will also serve at all times to distinguish them. A Yoallhe.