152 PLANT-CUTTER. 



GENUS XLV— PLANT-CUTTER. 



1 Chili PI. C. || 2 Abyssinian PI. C. 



-KILL conic, straight, serrated on the edges. 

 Nostrils oval. 

 Tongue short, obtuse. 



* WITH FOUR TOES. 



1— CHILI PLANT-CUTTER. 



Phytotoma Rara, Ind. Orn. i. 466. Molin. Chil. (Fr. ed.) 234. Shaw's Zool. ix. 336. 

 Phytotome du Chili, Daud. ii. 366. 

 Le Dente, Voy. d'Azara, iii, No. 91. 

 Chili Plant-Cutter, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. 212. 



SIZE of a Quail. Bill very strong, pointed at the tip, half an 

 inch long, indented like a saw on the edges ; tongue very short, 

 blunt; irides brown ; back dusky grey; the under parts paler; tail 

 of a moderate length, rounded at the end ; quills and tail feathers 

 spotted with black ; the foot furnished with four toes, three before 

 and one behind ; the back toe much shorter than the others. 



Inhabits Chili, where it is not uncommon : its voice is rough, 

 and the bird, at intervals, utters the syllables Ra, Ra, very distinctly ; 

 its food is vegetables, perhaps preferring the parts next to the root, 

 for with much pains, it digs about, and cuts off the plants with its 

 bill, as it were with a saw, close to the ground ; from this circum- 

 stance, it does much injury to the gardens, and is detested by the 

 inhabitants. 



