hollows of trees. It may be so in many cases and with some species. The only nest we ever saw, which
was of the Toco Toucan, was in the fork of a large tree, over the water, upon the Amazon.
“ Toucans, when tamed, are exceedingly familiar, playful birds, capable of learning as many feats as
any of the Parrots, with the exception of talking.
“ When turning about on their perch, they effect their object by one sudden jump. They eat anything,
but are particularly fond of meat.
“ When roosting they have a habit of elevating their tails over their backs. The beaks of the Redbilled
Toucans are richly marked with red, yellow, and black; but preserved specimens soon lose their
beauty.
“ The other varieties found near Para are the Pteroglossus maculirostris (Licht.), the P . bitorquatus
(Vig.), and the P. viridis”
But few notes have been written on the Toucans of the Pacific side of America; I find, however,
the following in the * Zoology of the Voyage of the Sulphur,’ by the late R. B. Hinds, Esq.
“ In our examination of the west coast of America from south to north, the Ramphastidce were first
seen at Atacames, which is a little south of the equator; and they were subsequently often noticed at the
different places touched at as far as the Gulf of Fonseca, in 13° 17' N. Lat. This is, however, most
certainly not their geographical limit, and probably not even on the coast.”— Zool. of Voy. of Sulphur,
p. 46.
Latham and some of the older authors mention a Preacher Toucan, but which species is intended is
by no means clear. The name may possibly have arisen from the following note in the 42nd volume of the
Gentleman’s Magazine, p. 505 :—
“ The geuus is confined to the hotter parts of South America; near Carthagena is found a bird called
Preacher, from the custom of its perching above its companions, and with a ridiculous motion of its head,
attended with its harsh note, as it were uttering a discourse.”
By Linnaeus and the older writers, all the members of this group known to them were comprised in
the single genus Ramphastos. In the year 1811, however, Illiger separated the smaller and more elegantly-
formed species, popularly known as Araqaris, into a distinct genus, to which he gave the name of Pteroglossus.
Since that period we have acquired a much more extensive acquaintance with the subject, and we
find that a still further subdivision of the family is necessary; indeed they appear to be naturally divided
into five or six distinct sections or genera, each having well-marked characters not found in any of the
others. The genus Ramphastos of Linnaeus must of course be retained for the Toucans, distinguished by
their large and gaily-coloured bills, and the black colouring of their plumage ; in like manner Illiger’s genus
Pteroglossus is retained for the Araparis, birds having a more elegant contour, and whose bodies are
clothed in green above and yellow and red beneath. In both these sections the sexes are alike in colour.
— E l
The next section in point of affinity comprises the beautiful Amazonian group of Banded Araparis,
figured under the names of Pteroglossus Beauharnaisii, Pt. Azaree, Pt. flavirostris, Pt. Marix, Pt. bitorquatus
and Pt. Sturmi, and for which the generic appellation of Beauharnaisius has been proposed by
Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte. In this section the females very closely assimilate to the males in
colour, but differ in the lighter hue of the throat.
The fourth section, for which I have proposed the generic appellation of Selenidera, and the trivial one
of Toucanets, is exceedingly well-marked; all its members are of small size when compared with the true
Araparis, have shorter and harder bills; shorter and less graduated tails; and are, moreover, distinguished
by a crescentic mark of yellow at the back of the neck ; by brilliant orange and yellow ear-coverts ; and by
a great difference in the colouring of the sexes.
The fifth division comprises the Hill Toucans, a group inhabiting the elevated portions of the Andes.
They are all well-proportioned birds, have larger and harder bills than the Seleniderx; a thick but lax
plumage; and are not banded on the under surface like the Araparis. For this group I have proposed
the generic name of Andigena.
The sixth and last division, constituting my genus Aulacorhynchus, altered by Mr. G. R. Gray to
Aulacoramphus, comprises ten species distinguished by a nearly uniform grass-green style of plumage, the
feathers composing which are long and loose, and by the bill being in some of the species grooved along
the sides. The sexes are alike in colour.
For the true Toucans then I retain Linnaeus’ genus
R AM PH A S TO S ,
WITH THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS:—
Rostrum maximum, tenue, culmine cu ltra to e t v ersu s apicem in c u rv o ; basi margine incrassato, maxillae angulo
frontali, tran sv e rsim subtruuca to, tomia intequaliter s e r r a ta ; nares frontales, pone maxillae basin sitae; orbita
nudae j lingua mediocris, angusta, p en n a c e a ; alee subelongatae, concavae; remigibus primis e t secundariis ad
apices in sp ath am angustam e d u c tis ; p rimariis sextiL e t septimA coaequalibus, e t longitudine pra estantibus;
cauda aequalis; pedes sc a n so rii; digiti externi in tem is longiores ; acropodia scutulata.
Bill very large , t h in ; culmen sharp an d curved down towards th e t i p ; thickened on th e margin a t th e b a s e ;
s errated on th e e d g e s ; nostrils p lac ed behind th e base o f th e b i l l ; orbits n a k e d ; tongue long, n arrow and