76 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



surrounding the eyes red ; and a band of an inch in 

 breadth across the chest, as also the upper and under 

 • tail-coverts, crimson. The bill is distinguished from 

 the head by a narrow line of black, beyond which a 

 triangular band of yellow, diminished nearly to a point 

 above and gradually widening downwards into a breadth 

 of nearly half an inch, occupies its base. The upper 

 edo;e of the bill for about one-third of its lenoth is of a 

 pale blue; and all the remaining parts are deep black. 

 The cutting edges are slightly and irregularly serrated. 

 The irides are of a bright blue ; the legs and feet bluish 

 gray ; and the claws black. 



In the most nearly related species, the Ramphastos 

 Tucanus, the throat and upper breast are of an orange- 

 colour, inclining to white on the sides ; a narrow pec- 

 toral band, together with the under tail-coverts, are 

 yellow, inclining in some instances to red ; while the 

 upper tail-coverts are universally described as yellow. 

 The bill too is said to be yellowish, with a black band 

 near its base. With these obvious differences^ and with 

 the proof that they are not dependent upon age, the 

 bird before us having retained its distinctive characters 

 unchanged for a period of at least six years, it is 

 impossible to do otherwise than to regard it as a 

 distinct species from the Linnasan Ramphastos Tucanus. 

 M. Desmarest has nevertheless thought fit, in a late 

 volume of the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, to 

 treat of it as the young of that bird ; and has even gone 

 so far as to quote Mr. Vigors' own authority for the 

 fact. On what grounds this assertion is founded we 

 cannot even conjecture, no such statement having been 

 any where made by that gentleman, and his original 

 opinion not merely remaining unchanged, but being 

 strongly confirmed by the lapse of time and the perma- 

 nence of the characters. 



In an earlier number of the same Journal a highly 



