90 Mr. 0. Salvin on the Costa-Rican Bell-bird, 



VIII. — Note on the Costa-Rican Bell-hird (Chasmorhynchus 

 tricarunculatus, Vei'reaux) and its allies. By Osbert Salvin^ 

 M.A., F.L.S., &c. 



(Plate III.) 



The accompanying plate, from Mr. WolPs pencil, depicts a most 

 remarkable bird from Costa K-ica, a country whicb has until 

 lately remained a terra incognita to the naturalist. The first in- 

 dications of the rich fauna of this limited district were obtained 

 by the Polish traveller Warszewicz, who, in his search for bota- 

 nical rarities, procured the first specimen of the Bare-necked 

 Umbrella-bird {Cephalopterus glabricollis) and several Humming- 

 birds, then unknown to science. His keen eye, however, failed 

 to detect this strange species, which fell to the lot of the brothers 

 J. and E. Verreaux to describe (Rev. Zool. 1853, pp. 193-195), 

 from specimens sent to them from Boca del Toro, a district lying 

 at the base of the Volcano of Chiriqui, on the Atlantic slope, and 

 forming a portion of the boundary of the political division be- 

 tween the New-Granadian Province of Veragua and Costa Rica. 



Subsequently specimens were obtained by Dr. von Frantzius 

 and sent to the Berlin Museum, where they were described at 

 length by Dr. Cabanis in the 'Journal fur Ornithologie ^ (1861, 

 p. 253), together with a considerable series of skins, forming the 

 only connected account which we possess of the birds of Costa 

 Rica. To this paper I shall have again to refer. 



The specimens from which the figures are taken form part of 

 a most interesting series which has lately enriched Mr. God- 

 man^s and my own collection, and was sent to us by Enrique 

 Arce, a collector now in our employ, together with a fine series 

 of Costa-Rican rarities. These birds were obtained near the small 

 village of Tucurrique. Through information kindly procured 

 for me by Captain Dow from Dr. von Frantzius, this district 

 is described as a small plain surrounded by mountains, and 

 drained by two rivers flowing into the Atlantic. Dr. von 

 Frantzius, who has visited the place, conjectures that it is about 

 3000 feet above the sea-level, and gives the mean temperature 

 at about 25-5° C. The rainfall is excessive. 



Before addina; the few remarks that an examination of the 



