PTEROGLOSSUS WIEDI, Sturm. 
Prince Maximilian’s Ara^ari. 
Specific Character. 
Pier, mandihulci superiore flavido-alba, culmine per totam longitudinem fascia angusta, margine 
tomiorum ad basin mandibidaque inferiore nigris; rostro toto basi albocincto ; femoribus 
viridibus. 
Head, neck and throat deep black, with a very slight tinge of rufous on the ear-coverts; upper 
surface, wings and tail deep green; lower part of the beak and rump blood-red ; upper 
tail-coverts green, blotched with blood-red ; under surface pale greenish yellow, faintly 
stained with blood-red next the black of the throat and with a broad band of the same hue 
across the middle of the body; thighs and vent green ; upper mandible creamy white, with 
a narrow line of black along the culinen and a conspicuous vertical mark of the same 
colour near the base; under mandible black; both mandibles with a raised ridge of a 
creamy white at the base; orbits very dark blackish grey; irides dark brown ; legs 
greyish green. 
Total length, 18 inches; bill, 4f; wing, 5f; tail, 6f; tarsi, li. 
Pteroglossus Araqari, Prinz Max. Von Wied, Beit, zur Nat. von Bras. iv. Bd. i. Abth. 
p. 283. 
- Wiedii, Sturm’s Edit, of Gould’s Mon. of Rarnph., pi. 
When speaking of the true Pteroglossus Araqari, in the first edition of this work, I remarked that I was at 
a loss to determine whether that bird, which is a native of Cayenne and Guiana, be identical with a some¬ 
what similar one from the Brazils, and which, although closely resembling it in colour and size, invariably 
possesses characters which at once indicate its country. The variations to which I allude consist in the 
examples from Cayenne having the mandibles more attenuated and hooked, the teeth more defined, the black 
mark on the culmen much more expanded, and the black of the throat bounded by a line of fine red, which 
although traceable in the other is much more obscure; the thighs also are dull olive-green with strong- 
dashes of reddish brown, so predominant in some specimens as to obscure the green entirely, while in the 
Brazilian birds the thighs are wholly green ; besides which, I have invariably found the true Arapari to be 
of a larger size. Whether these differences are specific, or only to be considered as variations dependent 
upon difference of climate and other local circumstances, is a question not easy to determine ; I am inclined, 
however, to believe that they constitute two distinct species. The Messrs. Sturm, after pointing out the 
differences above alluded to, have given to the Brazilian bird the specific appellation of P. Wiedii, in honour 
of His Highness The Prince Maximilian of Wied, a compliment most justly bestowed, since few travellers 
have done more to advance ornithology, or taken a greater interest in Natural History generally. 
Skins of this bird are frequently found in collections from Bahia and from Rio de Janeiro. M. Natterer 
killed it at Mattagrossa near Borba, and also received specimens from Mattodentro, the neighbourhood of 
Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo. In the stomachs of those he examined were found the remains of insects 
and the pips of oranges. 
The Prince Maximilian of Wied informs me that its voice consists of two short notes, having the 
sound of “ Culilc ! Calik ! ”—that, like the Ramphastos Ariel, it inhabits all the great forests of the Brazils 
traversed by him, and that it has precisely similar habits. During the breeding season it lives in pairs ; 
afterwards it congregates in small flocks, .which fly from one tree to another in search of fruits. Their 
flight is performed without much motion of the wings. In the cold season they leave the forests for the 
plantations near the coast, become very fat, and are killed in great numbers and eaten by the inhabitants, 
their flesh forming excellent food. In its native wilds it may be often seen perched on the naked branches 
of the loftiest trees, and while perched is said to make a flirting motion of the tail similar to that of the 
Magpie, Pica caudata. Like the other species of the family, it is in the habit of assembling round and 
teasing the birds of prey that may visit its locality, particularly owls. The eggs are deposited in the 
hollows of trees, and are white and two in number. 
The figures are of the natural size. 
