468 Mr. Vigors's Sketches in Ornithology, 



2. R. DicoLORus. Linn. — The specifick characters given of this 

 species in the " Sjstema Naturae," are very accurate as to the 

 plumage, but those of the bill are not mentioned. The characters 

 are as follows ; '' nigricans^ pectore abdomine* crisso uropygioque 

 rubris^ gula luteA.^^ In the synonyms of this species Linnasus 

 evidently refers to two distinct species. The first of these is the 

 Tucana gutture luteo of M. Brisson, [Vol. iv. p. 411. pi. xxxi. 

 f. 1.] the description of which accurately agrees with the charac- 

 ters of his own bird. The second is the T/ellow^-breasted Toucan 

 of Edtvards, [t. 329.] and is the next succeeding species to the 

 present. Besides a material difference in the bill of these two 

 birds, that of Mr. Edwards has a narrow scarlet pectoral band 

 instead of having nearly the whole of the abdomen scarlet as in 

 M. Brisson's bird; while the tail coverts are white instead of 

 being scarlet. As of the two birds thus referred to, the species 

 of M, Brisson accords most intimately with the characters in the 

 ^' Systema Naturae," while that of Mr. Edwards materially dis- 

 agrees with them, the former bird may justly be considered the 

 true R. dicolorus of Linnaeus. 



Tlie bill of the bird in M. Brisson's figure does not exactly 

 coincide with his description in the text. But if we make allow- 

 ance for the different appearances of the bill in a dried and recent 

 state, we may detect the traces of the characters of the true bill 

 in his figure, and in some measure reconcile it with his description. 

 The same observation may be extended to the bird represented in 

 the " Planches Enluminees," [269] which appears to correspond 

 very exactly with that in M. Brisson's plate. There is an ex- 

 cellent figure of this bird by M. Le Vaillant in his " Histoire 

 Naturelle des Toucans," [pi. 8.], and Mr. Swainson also has 

 added an accurate and valuable representation of it in his Zoolo- 

 gical Illustrations, [pi. 108.] Dr. Latham, who refers to a speci- 

 men in the Levcrian Museum has also accurately described the 

 species. But Dr. Shaw has at once sunk f the Linnean species 



* The lower part of the abdomen and the thigh coverts are black. The 

 scarlet however descends so far downwards as to give the abdomen the appear- 

 ance of being generally marked with that colour. 



f General Zoology. Vol. VIII. p. 365. 



