RHAMPHASTIDAE 



455 



the colonists and natives, the latter using their plumage to deco- 

 rate their bows or their persons, while the beaks make convenient 

 powder-flasks. They are easily tamed, and become amusing pets. 

 The various forms extend throughout the forests of Tropical America 

 down to the mangrove swamps of the coast, some occurring at an 

 altitude of from six thousand to ten thousand feet on the moun- 

 tains ; northwards Rliampliastus carinatus, Pteroglossus torquatus, 



FIG. 94. Ariel Toucan. Rhamphastus arid. x 



Aulacorhamphus prasinus, and A. wagleri reach South Mexico ; 



southwards, Rliampliastus toco ranges to Argentina ; but westwards 



no species crosses the Andes south of the Gulf of Guayaquil. They 



are not represented in the Antilles, though Rliamphastus vitellinus 



extends to Trinidad. Dr. Sclater T recognises five genera, comprising 



fifty-nine species, the majority inhabiting Amazonia and Guiana. 



The genus Rhamphastus contains fourteen members, with 



1 Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xix. 1891, pp. 122-160. 



