350 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[TOURACOS. 



cage fall upon the floor, he will not descend to them, 

 appearing to be fearful that in so doing he" should 

 soil his delicate plumage ; he therefore seldom or 

 never descends, except to perform his ablutions in 

 the pan of water placed at the bottom of the cage 

 expressly for his use." 



In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc,,' 1840, p. 13, will be 

 found an account of the same individual by Mr. G. 

 T. Lay, which embodies the same facts as those 

 detailed by Mr. Bennett, excepting that he explains 

 more clearly the song or " serenade " of the bird, 

 the notes of which are repeated in harmonic pro- 

 gression, thus : — 



HF=zfc 



zdt 





=3F 



"The first four notes are very exactly intonated, 

 very clear, and very sweet ; the last three are re- 

 peated in a kind of caw, a very high refinement of 

 the voice of a daw or a crow, yet possessing a strik- 

 ing resemblance ; and this suggests a lively affinity 

 between the crows and the Paradise-birds; while 

 this serenade is uttered, the black pupil, encircled 

 by a golden iris, waxes or wanes as the creature 

 wishes to contemplate more distinct or nearer ob- 

 jects." 



Fig. 1562 represents a group of Birds of Paradise : 

 a, the Emerald ; b, the Golden ; c, the Incompa- 

 rable ; d, the Cloudy ; e, the Superb. 



Family PHYTOTOMIDiE (PLANT-CUTTERS). 



Some ornithologists place the Plant-Cutters, the 

 Colies, the Touracos, and Plantain-eaters under 

 one family head, of which the}'' constitute so many 

 distinct tribes; we are inclined, however, to regard 

 them as the types of distinct forms, that is, consti- 

 tuting so many family sections ; and this appears to 

 be the opinion of Mr. G. Gray, excepting that he 

 considers the Plant-cutters to be one of the tribes 

 composing the extensive family of the Frmgillidse. 

 Mr. Swainson characterizes the Plant-cutters as 

 having the bill serrated, but not swollen, and the 

 feet with two or with three anterior toes, and one 

 backward. In the genus Hireus the toes are only 

 three. In size and aspect he compares these birds 

 to the bullfinches. The species are limited in num- 

 ber. 



1563. — The Chilian Plant-Cutter 

 (Phytotoma ram). It is to Molina that we are prin- 

 cipally indebted for our knowledge of the habits of 

 this bird, which, from the depredations it commits, 

 is subject to incessant persecution. It feeds on 

 plants of the most tender nature, cutting them off 

 close to the root ; and, not content with merely satis- 

 fying its appetite, it has the destructive habit of 

 cropping close a quantity of them without touching 

 them further ; thus injuring the fields of rising 

 grain while the blade is peeping above the sur- 

 face. 



The Chilian Plant-cutter builds its nest on the 

 most lofty trees, in obscure and but little frequented 

 spots, and, consequently, generally rears its brood in 

 safety, notwithstanding the reward which Molina 

 says is (or in his time was) given to children and 

 other persons who destroy the eggs. 



The same writer states that its numbers were in 

 his time considerably diminished, and adds, " I do 

 not know whether this circumstance is because a 

 price is set on its head, or on account of its naturally 

 small degree of fecundity." 



In size this bird nearly equals a thrush ; its bill is 

 rather large, straight, conical, and with the edg;es 

 serrated ; the tail is moderate and rounded. The 

 colour is dusky-grey upon the back, rather clearer 

 on the under surface; the points of the quills and 

 the tail are black. Its voice is a hoarse, interrupted 

 note. 



Family COLIADiE (THE COLIES). 

 These birds, the Oiseaux-Souris, or Mouse-Birds; of 

 Le Vaillant, so called from their sombre colours 

 soft and silky plumage, and mode of creeping about 

 the branches, are natives of Africa and India. They 

 are gregarious in their habits, and infest gardens and 

 cultivated spots for the sake of fruits, upon which 

 they subsist. It is seldom that they are seen upon 

 the ground ; like titmice, they climb about the 

 branches, clinging in every attitude, and assisting 

 themselves with the beak in the manner of parra- 

 keets. They build their nests, which are spacious 

 and round, in little groups, and, as Le Vaillant 

 states, sleep suspended with their heads downwards, 

 and that when it is cold, they are found so be- 

 numbed in the morning that they may be taken one 

 after the other. Their flesh is delicate. The 

 females lay five or six eggs. 



1564.— The Senegal Coly 



(Colitis Senegalensis, Latham). Bill short, conical, 

 slightly compressed, with the upper mandible some- 



what arched, and the edges of both serrated ; wings 

 long: tail very long and graduated; feet well 

 formed for clinging ; the eye is surrounded by a 

 naked reddish skin ; the general plumage is pearl- 

 grey with greenish reflexions, excepting the 

 forehead, which is yellow, and the abdomen, which 

 is ruddy. 



Family MUSOPHAGIMS (PLANTAIN- 

 EATERS). 



This family contains the genera Corythaix, ChizEe- 

 rhis, and Musophaga. In these genera the bill is 

 serrated, and the outer of the anterior toes capable 

 of being directed obliquely backwards. 



The genus Corythaix is thus characterized : — Bill 

 short, high and greatly compressed, with the ridge 

 arched ; head crested, the frontal feathers reposing 

 over the nostrils; wings short and rounded; tail 

 long, broad, and rounded ; feet strong ; claws short ; 

 plumage lustrous and silky. The Touracos are 

 most beautiful birds ; and feed principally on soft 

 fruits, displaying great address among the branches 

 of the trees. They are natives of Africa, and tenant 

 the forests, perching on the highest branches, often 

 out of the reach of gunshot : their voice is sonorous. 

 They breed, like Toucans, in hollow trees. In 

 captivity, judging from the individuals we have per- 

 sonally seen, they are very gentle and soon become 

 familiar. Their size exceeds that of our common 

 jay ; the prevailing colour of the plumage is green, 

 diversified with violet, purple, and red. In the 

 ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' 1834, p. 3, will be found an 

 account of the anatomy of the Corythaix porphyreo- 

 lopha, by Professor Owen, and in the 'Proceeds.' 

 for 1836, p. 32, our account of the dissection of 

 the Corythaix Buffonii. 



1565. — The Senegal Touraco 

 (Corythaix Senegalensis). In this species the crest 

 consists of long silky feathers which sweep back- 

 wards over the top of the head; when, however, the 

 bird is excited, the crest is elevated, and assumes a 

 compressed subcorneal shape, giving to the head a 

 helmeted appearance. Fig. 1566 represents the 

 head of this species, and well displays the form of 

 the beak, the extent of naked skin around the eye, 

 and the arrangement of the plumes of the crest. 



1567. — The Fire-crested Touraco 

 (Corythaix eryihrolophus). C. igniceps, Lesson; 

 Musophaga Paulina, Temminck. In this species 

 the silky crest is erect, compressed, and of a red 

 colour ; the sides of the head and throat are white ; 

 the general plumage is green, inclining to bluish on 

 the under parts ; the quill-feathers are rich purple- 

 violet; the bill is yellow; the feet dusky; eyes 

 large, red, and brilliant. Fig. 1568 represents the 

 head, which may be compared with that of the 

 Senegal Touraco, 



In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc,' June 14,1831, is the 

 description of the C. porphyreoiopha, Vigors; and 

 in the 'Proceeds.' for 1839, p. 34, the description 

 of a new species, the C. macrorhynchus, Fraser. 



It was in pursuit, we believe, of the Corythaix 

 Buffonii that Le Vaillant met with an accident that 

 might have terminated the enthusiastic traveller's 

 adventures. Having succeeded in bringing a touraco 

 to the ground from its lofty perch, he could not 

 immediately find it, and stamping in his vexation at 

 the loss, little aware of what was beneath him, 

 broke through into one of the covered pits which 

 the Hottentots dig for the purpose of catching 

 buffaloes, elephants, &c. 



1569. — The Variegated Touraco 

 (Chizcerhis variegata). Touraco huppee-eol of Le 

 Vaillant ; Phasianus Africanus, Latham ; Muso- 

 phaga variegata, Vieillot. 



The genus Chizaerhis differs from Corythaix in 

 the greater size and sharpness of the bill, in the 

 lengthened form of the wings, and in the nostrils 

 being unobscured by feathers ; habits, those of the 

 Touracos in general. The present bird is a native 

 of Africa. Its colour is light grey above, a blackish 

 stripe down each feather ; top of the head and 

 throat as far as the breast chestnut-brown ; under 

 plumage beyond the breast white, each feather 

 having a dark central stripe ; quill-feathers blackish, 

 with a spot of pure white, varying in size at the 

 middle of the inner webs ; tertiaries and middle tail- 

 feathers grey, tipped with black; lateral feathers 

 black ; bill yellow ; legs grey ; crest placed on the 

 back of the head. Total length twenty inches. 



1570.— The Violet Pla>taix-Eater 

 (Musophaga violacea). In this genus the bill 

 resembles that of Chizserhis, but the base enormously 

 dilated so as to spread like a casque or helmet over 

 the fore part of the head as far as the crown, where 

 its thickened sides form a semicircle ; nostrils naked, 

 oval, open, and pierced in the middle of the bill ■ 

 wings, feet, and tail, as in Corythaix. 



This richly-coloured and magnificent, bird is a 

 native of the Gold Coast and Senegal. Its descrip- 

 tion is as follows : — Bill rich yellow passing into 

 crimson orbits and crimson; feathers of the crown 

 close and fine, and of a rich crimson : a white mark 

 beginning below the eye extends above the ear; 

 secondary and part of the primary quills carmine, 

 with lilac reflexions margined and tipped with 

 blackish violet, which is the general colour of the 

 plumage, only that it changes to a very deep green 

 on the under parts, and is very rich on the tail- 

 legs strong and black. 



Family BUCERID^ (HORNBILLS). 



These strange-looking birds, characterizd by the 

 enormous development of the beak, are natives of 

 India and Africa. Not only is the beak of immense 

 magnitude, but the upper mandible is furnished 

 with projecting appendages, adding greatly to its 

 entire dimensions, and in some species encroaching 

 over the top of the head, These appendages in- 

 crease with age ; in young birds they are very small, 

 and their figure is undefined, and it is gradually 

 that they acquire their enormous dimensions. The 

 immense beak, thus furnished, seems to be heavier 

 than it is (and it is by no means light), for the 

 additional appendage is cellular internally ; the 

 edges of both mandibles are roughly notched. The 

 structure of the toes and the shortness of the tarsi ' 

 of the Hornbills indicate arboreal habits. The 

 middle and outer toes are united as far as the second 

 joint, and the under surface of the whole is flat and 

 palm-like in order to give a firm close hold upon 

 the branch (see Fig. 1571, the head and foot of 

 Buceros Rhinoceros ; and Fig. 1572, a section of the 

 skull). In their food these birds appear to be om- 

 nivorous, fruits, eggs, young birds, reptiles, and 

 even carrion forming their diet. Of the fruit of the 

 Ficus Indica and of the Banyan, they are said to be 

 very fond, and also, according to Bontius, of nut- 

 megs, which impart an aromatic flavour to the flesh, 

 which is delicate : this account applies more ex- 

 clusively to the Buceros Hydrocorax, Linnasus; for 

 respecting the Buceros Rhinoceros he says, " It 

 lives on the carcasses and intestines of animals, and 

 waits upon the hunters who kill wild cattle, boars, 

 and stags, to gorge itself with the entrails of the 

 slain beasts." 



M. Lesson sums up the habits of the Hornbills 

 thus : — Those of Africa live on carrion : those of the 

 East Indies seek for fruits, especially nutmegs, and 

 their flesh thence acquires a delicious flavour. 

 Their flight is performed by repeated strokes of the 

 wings, and the air which they displace, joined to 

 the clattering of their mandibles, occasions a great 

 and very disquieting noise in the forests, when the 

 cause is unknown. This noise, capable of inspiring 

 terror, does not ill resemble those flaws of rough 

 and sudden winds ("grains de vent brusques et 

 subits ") which arise so unexpectedly between the 

 tropics, and blow so violently. The Europeans 

 established at the Moluccas think that the furrows 

 which are seen on the bill of the Hornbills are the 

 result of age, and that each furrow signifies a year; 

 whence the name of Jerarvogel, which they give to 

 these birds. Mr. Swainson remarks that the Horn- 

 bills are gregarious noisy birds, generally of a very 

 large size, and are restricted to the Old World ; that 

 they are omnivorous, feeding both on animals and 

 vegetables ; that some, however, seem only to par- 

 take of the latter food ; while others, upon the 

 authority of Le Vaillant, feed upon carrion. The 

 Buceros cavatus dissected by Mr. Owen was observed 

 to be more attached to animal than to vegetable 

 food, and would quit any other substance if a dead 

 mouse was offered to it. This it would swallow 

 entire, after squeezing it twice or thrice with the 

 bill; and no castings were noticed. Mr. Owen, 

 however, adds that Petiver has borne testimony to 

 its regurgitating habits. 



The progressive motion of these birds on the 

 ground is by hopping or jumping along. Major- 

 General Hardwicke expresses surprise at this, and 

 at their perching with such security, as their feet 

 are formed for walking, and better suited to the 

 ground than the trees; an error which a considera- 

 tion of the form and shortness of the tarsi, the 

 structure of the toes, and the general contour of 

 the birds might, one would think, have prevented. 



Active and alert, notwithstanding the magnitude 

 of their beaks, these birds lightly traverse the 

 branches of the forest, and leap from one to an- 

 other till the highest is attained : they then often 

 stop and utter a loud roaring sound, which may be 

 heard at a considerable distance, and is alarmim: to 

 those who do not know whence it proceeds. The 

 noise thus uttered, and which is most probably 

 their call-note, throws a light, upon the design of 

 the hollow protuberance surmounting: the bill : it 

 acts as a sounding-board, increasing the reverbera- 

 tion of the air. With regard to the huge beak 

 itself, many conjectures have been entertained as 



