PTEROGLOSSUS M A RI E, Gould. 
Duchess of Leuchtenberg-’s Aracari. 
Specific Character. 
Pter. mandibula superiore pallide stramineo-fiavd unicolore, maculis ad tomias nigris; inferiore 
ochraceo-flavo unicolore. 
Crown of the head black ; nape, upper part of the back and rump very deep blood-red; back, 
wings and tail dark olive-green ; primaries black, edged with dark olive-green ; cheeks and 
throat chocolate, bordered below by a narrow line of black, beyond which is a broad 
crescentic band of rich blood-red, succeeded by a still broader band of dull black ; remainder 
of the under surface pale yellow, stained with blood-red immediately behind the black 
band, particularly on the sides; under surface of the wings pale yellow; thighs dark olive; 
upper mandible straw-yellow, with a narrow interrupted streak of black along the clcnti- 
culations; under mandible uniform ochreous-yellow; at the base of both mandibles a narrow 
raised band of pale yellow; irides crimson; orbits deep blood-red, with a ring of cobalt- 
blue next the pupil; legs and feet olive-green. 
1'otal length, 14 inches; bill, 3; wing, 4i; tail, 5i; tarsi, 1. 
The Banded Aracaris are some of the most striking and beautiful of the forest birds inhabiting the borders 
of the River Amazon. They constitute a little group unequalled among the Toucans for the grace and 
elegance of their form, and are distinguished above all others by the rich colouring of their under surface, 
with the curl-crested species at their head as the largest, and the present diminutive one at the other 
extremity. As the name Beaidiarnasius, in honour of the late Duke of Leuehtenberg, has long been asso¬ 
ciated with this group as the specific appellation of the former, I have thought it not inappropriate to name 
the smaller species in honour of the widow of a prince distinguished for his love and support of science, 
and whose premature death all naturalists must deplore. 
The native habitat of this species is the woods clothing the sides of the Lower Amazon, whence numerous 
specimens have been sent by Mr. Hawkswell; all of which were precisely alike, both in size and in colouring. 
The species to which the present bird is most nearly allied is the P.Jiamrostris, hut it differs in being of a 
smaller size, in the uniform colouring of the upper mandible, in which there is no trace of the orange mark 
beneath the nostrils so observable in that species; and in the lower mandible being wholly ochraceous, 
instead of being straw-white with a streak of ochraceous along the side only. 
The sexes appear to be precisely alike in colour, and it is only by her somewhat smaller size that the 
female may be distinguished from the male. 
