PTEROGLOSSUS AZAR^, WasUr. 
Banded Ara^ari. 
Specific Character. 
Pfer. rostro stjamineo; mandibuld superiore pallidiore, nigro serratd: ohvaceo-viridis; capite 
nigvo i cLUTihus guldque satUTCitG castcineis, hue nigTO posticc cincto, / guttuve coccineo, 
torque pectorali lata, antice nigra, postice anguste coccined; ventre flavo ; crisso coccineo. 
Bill clear straw yellow, the upper mandible being tlie palest, and the serratures of its edges 
marked by dashes of black; top of the head and occiput black; throat and ear-coverts 
deep mahogany brown, below which extends a semilunar band of black; to this succeeds 
a broad belt of scarlet, followed by a similar band of jet black, to this again a narrow 
band of scarlet; thighs olive green; the rest of the under surface yellow; upper surface 
olive green, with the exception of the rump, which is scarlet. 
Total length, 15 inches. 
LAragari Azara. Levaill., Ois. de Parad., Supp. p. 40. t. A. [cited by Waglei'.] 
Ramphastos Azara, Vieill., Noiiv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., t. 34. p. 282. 
Pteroglossus Azarcc. Wagler, Syst. Avium. 
Two exaiTiples of this truly beautiful Ara^ari adorn the national museum of France, wliich, with one in the 
Munich collection, are, as far as I have been able to ascertain, the only specimens in Europe. In the year 
1825, M. Vieillot published a figure and description of tliis bird taken, as he himself informs us, from a single 
individual in the gallery of the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle; from which it is apparent that the second 
specimen alluded to, and which is by far the finest, as M. Vicillot’s figure proves, has been subsequently 
acquired. From the extreme rarity in England of the Supplement to Levaillant’s Work, cited by Wagler as 
containing a figure of this bird, I have never been able to see the Plate referred to. 
I visited Paris purposely to inspect and make a drawing of the specimens of this rare bird, in order to 
assure myself of their specific value, and their relative affinities in the group to which they belong. The 
alternate hands of red and hlack which ornament the l)reast, together with the uniform colour of the bill, the 
serratures of which alone are marked out with black, at once distinguish it from every other Pteroglossu,<i. 
It may, however, be observed, that in the specimen from which M. Vieillot took his figure, a broad dusky 
dash extends from the base of the upper mandible nearly two thirds of its length, diminishing as it proceeds 
towards the point. It is not clear to me that this indistinct mark is not the indication of an immature bird, 
or it may perhaps he caused by some decomposition after death, the rest of the colouring being neither so fine 
nor so brilliant. I would also remark, that the lower band of scarlet is only slightly indicated. 
The nearest allied species at present discovered is the Pteroglossus Utorquatus } but from this it may at 
once be distinguished by the alternate bands across the chest. 
Wagler informs us that the habitat of this bird Is Brazil, where it is extremely rare. 
