980 



TOURACO 



that applied to it in Guinea, whence it had been brought alive. It 

 is the Ouculus persa of Linnajus, and Turacus or Cori/thaix pxii'sa of 

 later authors, who perceived that it required generic separation. 

 Cuvier, in 1799 or 1800, Latinized its native name (adopted in 

 the meanwhile by both French and German writers) as above, for 

 which barbarous term Illiger, in 1811, substituted a more classical 

 word; but in 1788 Isert had described and figured a bird, also 

 from Guinea, which he called Musophaga molacea (Plantain-EATER, 

 p. 730), and its affinity to the original Touraco being soon recog- 



nized, both forms have been joined by modern systematists in the 

 Family Musopliagidse. 



To take first the Plantain-eaters proper, or the genus Musophaga 

 of which only two species are known. One about the size of a 

 Crow is comparatively common in museums, and is readily recog- 

 nized by having the horny base of its fine yellow h\\\ prolonged 

 backward over the forehead in a kind of shield. The top of the 

 head, and the primaries, except their outer edge and tip, are deep 

 crimson ; a white streak extends behind the eye ; and the rest of 

 the plumage is of a rich glossy purple. The second species, M. 

 rossx, which is rare, chiefly differs by wanting the white eye-streak. 

 Then of the Touracos — the species originally described is about 

 the size of a Jay, and has the head, crest (which is vertically com- 

 pressed and tipped with red), neck and breast of a fine grass-green. 



