AULACORAMPHUS CLERULEOGULARIS, Gould.
Blue-throated Groove-bill.
S p e c i f i c C h a r a c t e r .
Aul. gula cccruled.
Upper surface dark green, with an olive tint on the head and nape, and of a brighter green on
the rump and upper tail-coverts; primaries blackish brown, margined externally at the
base with dark green ; tail deep green, passing into blue towards the extremity, and tipped
with rich chestnut; throat and fore part of the cheeks cserulean blue ; under surface green,
washed with yellow on the flanks and abdomen; under tail-coverts rich chestnut; bill
black, with the exception of the upper part of the sides of the upper mandible and the
apical portion of the culmen, which are greenish yellow, passing into purer yellow at the
t ip ; on the sides of both mandibles at the base a broad band, which on the upper one is
yellow, and on the lower white ; orbits red ; legs and feet greenish lead-colour.
Total length, 12t inches; bill, 2£; wing, 4 i ; tail, 4 r ; tarsi, It.
Aulacoramphus coeruleogularis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 22, 1853.
T h e new species of Groove-Bill figured on the accompanying Plate was killed by Berthold Seemann, Esq.,
Naturalist to H.M.S. Herald, together with other ornithological rarities, in Veragua. It is very nearly
allied to A . albmtta; but may be at once distinguished from that species by its rich blue throat, by the band
at the base of the bill being much broader and yellow on the upper mandible, instead of white, and by the
under surface being washed with yellow, while in the other it is pure green. I regard the discovery of this
new species with the greatest interest, as an important addition to the present group, especially as it arrived
at an opportune moment for including it in the present Monograph.
The figures are of the natural size.