64 



AFRICAN TOURACO. 



greater quills crimson, with the outer edge and 

 tip margined with black : tail blueish purple : 

 legs and claws cinereous. 



This bird is subject to very great variety, so 

 much so, that Buffon imagined there were three 

 species confounded with it, but the characters 

 which he has given are not sufficient to warrant 

 their being considered distinct ; from whence we 

 are only inclined to notice them as varieties. One 

 of them is said by him to be a native of Abyssinia, 

 and to have a blackish crest, which hangs behind 

 like a lock ; with a brownish tinge on the lower 

 part of its back and tail : another has an upright 

 crest of bright green, with occasionally a mixture 

 of white in it, and margined with white ; is found 

 at the Cape of Good Hope : the third variety is 

 merely the young bird. 



This latter variety Buffon had in his possession 

 alive for some time, and he was assured that its 

 food was rice, but upon trial it would not touch 

 a grain ; and in consequence of not having any 

 thing else offered it, it was on the point of dying, 

 as it had nothing for two or three days but a little 

 sugar and water that was in the cage ; but one 

 day seeing some raisins brought upon the table, it 

 shewed a very strong disposition to eat, and some 

 corn was given to it, which it swallowed greedily ; 

 it was equally eager for apples, but would scarcely 

 touch oranges; from the above statements it 

 would appear that fruits are its natural food, and 

 the bird has been kept for many months upon that 

 food. 



