PTEROGLOSSUS ARACARI, Auct. 
Cayenne Aracari. 
Specific Character. 
Pter. mandihula siiperiore pallide stramined, macidd lata cidminali nigra; inferiore nigra; 
fascia hasali angustd, alba: supra olivaceo-viridis, subtus favus; uropygio, abdomine late, 
torqueque angustd interruptd pectorali coccineis ; capite colloque nigris. 
Beak, upper mandible pale straw white, with a broad black culminal mark, the edges slightly 
serrated; the lower mandible black; both are surrounded by a narrow basal belt of white ; 
head and throat black; the whole of the upper surface olive green, with the exception of 
the rump, which is red; under surface fine yellow, with a broad abdominal band of 
scarlet and indications of an interrupted line of the same colour bordering the black of the 
throat; thighs dull olive, largely blotched with reddish brown. 
Total length, 18 to 19 inches; bill, 4 to 5; wing, 6; tail, 74; tarsi, H. 
Ramphastos Aracari. Auct. 
LAraqari a ceinture rouge. Levaill., Ois. de Parad., 2. p. 29-1. 20. 
I AM at a loss to determine whether the present bird, which is a native of Cayenne and Guiana, be identical 
with one from the Brazils, and which, although closely resembling it in colour and size, invariably 
possesses minute characters which at once indicate its country. The variation to which I allude consists in the 
following particulars. The examples from Cayenne have the mandible more attenuated and hooked, the teeth 
more defined, and the black mark on the culmen much more expanded; the black of the throat is bounded by 
an interrupted line of fine red, w'hich, though it is to be traced in the other, is much more obscure ; the thighs 
also in the present species are dull olive green, with strong dashes of reddish brown, which in many specimens 
predominates so as to obscure the green entirely. In the Brazilian examples, the thighs are wholly green, 
added to which I have invariably found the present bird to be somewhat larger in size. Whether these 
distinctions amount to specific differences, or are to be considered only as variations depending on difference 
of climate and other local circumstances, is a question not easy to determine. I am inclined, however, to 
believe that their being constant and unvarying, forms a good argument for supposing them to be truly 
distinct: be this as it may, I consider this as the first described, and consequently the one to which the term 
Aracari exclusively belongs. 
On turning to the valuable work of Levaillant, we find him censuring Buffon for confounding the present 
with a totally different species, the Pteroglossus viridis, and immediately afterwards doubting whether the 
present bird and one from Peru, with an additional narrow belt of black across the chest (the Aragari a double 
ceinture), be merely varieties or actual species. This Peruvian bird is not, I believe, in existence, nor has any 
other specimen been seen or described. If, however, the drawing be correct, I have no hesitation in saying 
it is distinct, and we have yet to look for it as the reward of future exertions. Levaillant informs us that the 
P. Aracari abounds in Guiana, where it makes great havock in the plantations of bananas, guavas, and even 
of coffee. 
I am indebted to Lord Stanley for a specimen of the immature bird, which is extremely valuable, as showing 
that the young, like the genuine Toucans, acquire the mature colouring of the plumage at an early age, long 
before the beak is fully developed, or has attained its particoloured hues. 
It inhabits Cayenne and Guiana. 
