For the third section, or Banded Araparis, I propose to adopt Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte’s
generic title of
B E A U H A R N A IS IU S ,
WITH THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS .
Aspectus generalis, sicut in genere P t e r o g l o s s o dicto, attamen ro s tro delicatule lseviore, necnon alis brev io rib u s,
e t caudA a tten u a te minore.
General structure as in Pteroglossus, but the bill more delicate, the wings shorter, and the tail smaller
and of a lighter form.
Unlike the members of the geuus Ramphastos, which are universally spread over South America, and
the Pteroglossi, which are nearly so, the members of the genus Beauharnaisius are almost entirely confined
to the districts bordering the Amazon and its tributaries; and there is scarcely any part of the banks of
this river where Palm-trees abound that one or other of the species is not to be found.
They are
25. Beauharnaisius ulocomus
26. ------------------- bitorquatus
27. ------------------- Sturmi . . . .
28. - ----------------- A z a r a e .....................................
29. ------------------- flavirostris . . . .
30. ------------------- M a r i a e .....................................
This is by far the most beautiful section of the entire family.
In the plates and descriptive letter-press they are retained under the old term Pteroglossus; but in
future they will stand as above-named.
Pl. XXV.
Pl. XXVI.
Pl. XXVII.
Pl. XXVIII.
Pl. XXIX.
Pl. XXX.
The fourth section comprises the species constituting my genus
S E L E N ID E R A ,
WITH THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS
Rostrum brevius e t amplius quam in genere Pteroglosso ; cauda ra tio n e ad magnitudinem corporis habità brevior ;
sexus in te r se colore dissimilis ; mare c a p u t pectusque n ig ra, fceminà h a s p a rte s castaneas habente ; piuma
aurieulares flavae ; lunula ad cervicem posticam flava.
Bill sh o rte r an d th ick e r th an in th e genus Pteroglossus; tail sh o rte r in proportion to th e size o f th e b o d y ; sexes
differing in c o lo u r; th e male having th e h e a d and b re a s t black, th e same p a r ts in th e female being c h e s tn u t;
ea r-coverts an d a crescent a t th e back o f th e neck yellow.
This interesting group of Toucanets again have a more restricted range than either the typical
Ramphasti or Pteroglossi. No one of them has yet been found so far to the northward as the Isthmus of
Panama; and few of them have been observed beyond the- latitude of the Amazon in this direction. On
the banks of that river, however, and those of the Rio Negro and Rio Madeira, they are very numerously
dispersed; and one species, the Selenidera maculirostris, is found as far south as Rio de Janeiro, and
I believe in Corrientes and Paraguay; still the forests bordering the Upper Amazon and its tributaries
are undoubtedly the cradle of the race. They constitute a well-marked section of the family, and are
distinguished by their small size, by their short bills, by the crescentic mark of yellow at the base of the
neck, and by the brilliant colours which adorn their ears and flanks. The females have all these characteristic
marks, but differ conspicuously in the colouring of the anterior half of their bodies, which is generally
chestnut-brown instead of black.
The species are—
31. Selenidera maculirostris
32. ------------- Gouldi
33. ------------- Langsdorffi
34. — ;-------- Nattereri
35. ------------- Reinwardti
36. ------------ piperivora
Pl. XXXI.
Pl. XXXII.
Pl. XXXIII.
Pl. XXXIV.
Pl. XXXV.
Pl. XXXVI.