PHONYGAMIN^. 
Phonygama Less.* 
Bill the length of the head, broad at the base, -with the culmen elevated and slightly advancing on 
the forehead, and the rest curved towards the tip, which is shghtly hooked and emarginated ; the 
nostrils placed in a sunken channel, with the opening large, oval, and partly hidden by the advancing 
feathers. Wings moderate, with the first four quills graduated, and the fifth the longest. Tail 
lengthened, broad, and rounded. Tarsi rather longer than the middle toe, and covered Avith broad 
scales in front. Toes moderate, with the lateral ones unequal, the outer the longest ; the hind toe long 
and strong ; the claws moderate, curved, and acute. 
The species of this genus are inhabitants of the primeval forests of New Guinea, where they are observed perched 
singly on the upper branches of the large trees, the fruits of which form their principal subsistence. One of the species 
is said to make the forests vibrate with its various musical notes, which are clear, distinct, sonorous, and pass nearly 
through the whole gamut. 
1. P. viridis (Linn.) G. R. Gray, PI. enl. 634. — Cracticus cha- 
lybaeus Fieill. ; Chalyboeus paradiseus Cuv. Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad. 
1. 10. 
2. P. Keraudrenii Less. Voy. de la Coqu. t. 13. — Chalybaeus 
cornutus Cuv. ; Phonygama Lessonia Swains. Less. Compl. de BuflP. 
t. 7. 
3. P. ater Less. Voy. de la Coqu. Zool. i. 638. — Cracticus ver- 
sicolor Vieill. ? 
* It was in the Manuel d'Ornithologie, i. p. 141. that ^L Lesson established this genus in the year 1828. 
January, 1846. 
