Hah. Senegambia: Casamanze, Bissao ( Ver remix) . 
This strange-looking Barbet is the type of the genus Poyonorhynchus, of which it is 
the largest species. The most closely allied to it are P. rolleti ( Defil .), which has the throat 
black, and P. bidentatus (Shaw), which wants the conspicuous band of black on the breast. 
It may further be identified by the curious transverse grooving of the lower mandible, a feature 
quite unique and wanting in all other Barbets of every genus. It was figured by Buffon in 
the ‘“Planches Enluminees” as early as 1783, from a specimen said to be from the coast of 
Barbary. 
i 
0 
According to Le Vaillant “ The feet are yellow, the eyes reddish brown, the beak red 
“ at the base, the rest yellow, shading into white towards the tip. The male and female are 
“ alike. They inhabit forests, and build in the trunks of trees. The male and female are 
“ always in company. Their note is loud and sonorous, and they live principally on fruits. 
“ They are to be found in most parts of Africa, even as far north as Barbary. I found it in 
“ Great Namaqua Land, in the forests on the banks of the Fish Rivers. In this district 
“ they are migratory, being found there only at certain times during the year. Buffon was 
“ the first to name this bird the Barbican.” 
The specimen from which our plate is taken is in the collection of Mr. R. B. Sharpe. It 
is an adult bird from the River Gambia. 
This species is remarkable for its bill which is very large and strong, as broad as hig h 
at the base. The lower mandible is strongly grooved transversely, the upper mandible 
furnished with two teeth in the centre, the indentations of which are traced backwards to 
the nostril by two deep grooves in the surface. The rictal bristles are very strongly 
developed, especially on the lower mandible. 
