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.