128 



cassell's book of birds. 



RamphastidcB offer some resemblance to the Corvu/i£, and, like them, are very troublesome to birds 

 of prey, particularly to the Owls, which they surround and annoy by making a great noise, all the 

 while jerking their tails upwards and downwards. The flight of these birds is easy and graceful, and 

 they sweep with facility over the loftiest trees of their native forests ; their strangely-developed bills 

 are no encumbrance to them, as the interior being replete with a tissue of a^-fiUed cells renders these 

 organs very light and even buoyant. The voice of the Ramphaslidtz is short and unmelodious, and 



. THE ARAS3ARI {Pteroglosms aracari). 



somewhat different in every species. Their feathers are used by the natives for general decoration, 

 especially the yellow breasts of the birds, which they affix to their heads on each side, near the temple, 

 and also to the ends of their bows." 



The ARASSARIS {Fteroglossus) possess a comparatively small, slender, rounded beak, which is 

 compressed at its tip, equals the head in height, and is more or less incised at its margins. The 

 short wing, in which the third quill is the longest, is pointed, and the tail long and conical. The 

 plumage usually exhibits a great variety of colours, amongst which, however, green or yellow 

 predominate. In some species the females differ considerably in appearance from their mates. 



