T A M A T 1 A macrorhjnchos. 

 Greater pied Puff-bird. 



Generic Character. 



Taniatia. Cuvier. — Capito. Fiell. Tern. 



Rostrum ralidum, compressmn, sub-rectum; manditmld superiorc ad 

 opicem obtuse adnnc.d, emarginatd, superioris margine inferioris 

 margincm obtegente. Nares bamles sulcatce, aperturd termi/iuli, 

 rotuudd parvd, plumis rigidis incumbent ibus tectd. Frons, rictus, 

 et nientum vihrissis rigidis, elougatis, urmati. Pedes scansorii, ver- 

 satiles ; digiti exterioris elongati articulo prima cum digito ex- 

 teriore connexo. Rectrices 12, liueares, subrotundatce. 

 Typus Genericus Bucco tamatia Linn. Lath. 



Bill strong, compressed, nearly straight ; the tip of the upper man- 

 dible curved, notched, and obtuse ; the margin folding on that 

 of the lower mandible. Nostrils basal, sulcated ; the aperture 

 terminal, round, small, hid by bristly incumbent feathers. Chin, 

 front, and gape, with strong lengthened bristles. Feet scan- 

 sorial, versatile ; the outer toe long, and connected by the first 

 joints to the inner toe. Tail feathers 12, linear and slightly 

 rounded. 



Generic Type Spotted-bellied Barbut Latham. 



Specific Character. 



T. nigcr ; frunte, guld,jugulo, caudicque apice albis ; abdu mine alba vet 



fuho ; fascia pectorali nigrd. 

 Black; front, throat, forepart of the neck, and tips of the tail feathers, 



white ; body white or fulvous ; pectoral bar black. 

 Bucco macrorhynchos. Gmelin 406. In, Orn. 1. 203. Gen. Zool. 



vol. ix. p. 33. 

 Greater pied Barbut. Lath. Sj/n. 2. p. 498. 



1 HERE is something very grotesque in the appearance of all 

 the Puff birds; and their habits, in a state of nature, are no 

 less singular. They frequent open cultivated spots near 

 habitations, always perching on the withered branches of a 

 low tree ; where they will sit nearly motionless for hours, 

 unless, indeed, they descry some luckless insect passing near 

 them, at which they immediately dart, returning again to the 

 identical twig they had just left, and which they will some- 

 times frequent for months. At such times the dispropor- 

 tionate size of the head is rendered more conspicuous by the 



ri. 9<.». 



