SImiarum genus, quarum formam tum exteram tum internam homini fateamur necesse est simillimam, tot et tam diversas continet species, ut universas plene et accurate describere inter ea sit quibus scientia naturalis diu caritura est; augetque difficultatem fortuita ipsarum specierum varietas. Ita se rem habere insigne exstat exemplum in tabula. Hæc enim simia, licet ut plurimum tota sit nigerrima, interdum tamen, ut et nunc, penitus albicat, exceptis vultu manibusque, quibus adhæret pristinus et genuinus color.

Visu licet deformissima sit, et ferocissima forsan putetur, non modo mitior longe et tractabilior est plerisque congeneribus, queis mira innascitur petulantia et protervitas, sed et laudem modestiæ et urbanitatis adepta est. Locum habet inter veras simias, illas nempe quæ ecaudatæ vocantur, quæque humani generis superbiæ sunt offendiculo nimia similitudine.

Linnæus, nimium fortasse fabulosis quibusdam tunc temporis peregrinatoribus confisus, qui ingenium illi tantum non humanum tribuerint, simiam Satyrum, seu Orang-Otang, quasi speciem hominis descripsit; aliamque simiæ Satyri varietatem nomine Hominis Troglodytis insignivit; quæ tamen iterum et recte in suo loco memoratur, viz. in genere simiarum. Species quoque de qua jam loquimur eandem subiit generis mutationem, semel nempe a Linnæo descripta est titulo Hominis Laris.

Depinxit eam Buffonus, ut plerumque cernitur, nigram. Speciem hanc præcipue distinguit immensa brachiorum longitudo, quæ ad humum pertingunt, cum erecta steterit. Cauda penitus caret; unguesque sunt rotundati, ut hominis. Varias Indiæ Orientalis partes inhabitat, Bengalam præcipue interiorem. Interdum ad humanam crescit altitudinem: sed exstat quoque varietas minor, huic omnino consimilis, nisi quod dimidiatam attingat proceritatem. Simia quam figura illustrasse jam diximus Buffonum, faciem habet fuscam, quæ cingitur barba alba lateque passa: pedes quoque fere albi. Ut verum fatear, non prorsus impossibile existimo ut sit hæc nostra vere diversa a nigra, licet illi nimis sit affinis.

THE genus Simia, so nearly allied in external appearance, as well as internal conformation, to that of Homo, contains so great a number of species, that a complete and accurate description of the whole tribe is yet amongst the desiderata of science; and the difficulty of obtaining it is still increased by the great variety to which the species are sometimes subject. Of this the animal figured on the annexed plate is a remarkable instance, which, tho’ generally of a uniform black, is some times, as in the specimen here represented, found entirely of a dull white, except the face and inside of the hands, which still retain the original colour.

Notwithstanding the apparent ferocity and deformity of its figure, this species is of a more tractable and gentle nature than most of its tribe, and 56 (what may appear astonishing in one of this petulant genus,) has even been celebrated for the decorum and modesty of its behaviour. Considered with respect to the rest of its tribe it ranks amongst the genuine Apes, or Simiæ ecaudatæ, and is one of those species which alarm the pride of Mankind by too near an approach to the real Primates of the creation.

Linnæus, in his celebrated work the Systema Naturæ, has even placed the animal called the Orang-Otang, or Simia Satyrus, as a species of Homo, or Man; but at that time he seems to have paid perhaps too much attention to the exaggerated descriptions of that animal as given by some travellers, who have represented it as making a nearer approach to Man than is really the case. Seduced by these authorities Linnæus gives as a species of Man, the Homo Troglodytes, which is nothing more than the Simia Satyrus, and which again occurs in its proper genus of Simia. Our present species has undergone a similar change in its genus, having been once described by Linnæus under the name of Homo Lar.

It is figured in the natural history of the Count de Buffon. Its most striking character as a species is the excessive length of its arms, which, when the creature stands upright, are so long as to touch the ground. It has no appearance of a tail, and the nails on all the toes are shaped nearly as the human ones. This animal is a native of several parts of the East Indies; and particularly of the interior parts of Bengal. It sometimes grows to the height of a man, but there is also a smaller variety, which perfectly resembles the large sort, except in not growing to above half its size. In the figure of this species given by the Count de Buffon the face is brown, surrounded with a spreading white beard: the feet are also represented nearly white. After all it is perhaps not impossible that the animal here represented may be really a distinct species from the black one, tho’ so very nearly allied to it.

VEnustissima hac avi Museum Leverianum donavit Nobilissimus Comes Orford, nuperrime defunctus, qui etiam viventem emerat. Latuit prius physicos species incognita. Reliquis omnibus psittacini generis videtur antecellere mole et magnificentia.

De patria nihil habeo quod pro certo dicam; vix tamen dubitem hunc psittacum cum aliis majoribus, iis scilicet qui Macaones vocantur, Americam Australem præcipueque Brasiliam incolere. Tota avis est eximie cyanea, nisi 58 quod super frontem et margines remigum levissima sit coloris thalassini tinctura. Superficies inferior alarum caudæque nigra est. Rostrum præter solitum magnum validumque omnino nigerrimum. Nigrant quoque crura et pedes; quorum ingens robur. Orbitæ, seu spatia nuda circum oculos coloris sunt lutei: lutea etiam est cutis nuda qua mandibulæ inferioris basis cingitur.

Partium corporis proportio eadem fere est huic ac duabus speciebus jam memoratis, Macaoni nempe et Araraunæ; quas tamen mole superat psittacus augustus. Præter specimen quod jam descripsimus nullum aliud in tota Europa creditur extare.

OF all the parrot tribe yet known this bird seems to be the largest as well as the most august in its appearance. It is also a new species, and was unknown to naturalists till it was introduced into the Leverian Museum by the late Lord Orford, who purchased it living.

Nothing certain is known with respect to its native country: it may however be strongly presumed that, like the Psittacus Macao, Ararauna, and the other large Maccaws, it may be an inhabitant of South America, and probably of Brasil in particular. Its colour is the richest and deepest mazarine blue, uniformly diffused over the whole bird; except that on the 60 edges of the wings and the forehead is a very slight tendency to a sea-green or blueish-green cast. The under surface of the wings and tail is black. The beak is most uncommonly large and strong; and considerably exceeds in size those of the Macao and Ararauna: it is totally black, the legs and feet are also black and extremely strong. The orbits or bare spaces round the eyes are of a deep yellow, and the base of the lower mandible is surrounded by a bare skin of the same colour.

The general proportions of this magnificent bird are the same as in the two species above mentioned, but its size is still larger. The specimen now described is perhaps the only one known to exist at present in Europe.

SPECIEM hanc Coraciæ? splendidissimam simul et rarissimam profert regio Americæ Australis, Cayana dicta. Tota avis (exceptis remigibus alarum primoribus caudaque quæ nigricant) splendidissime est phœnicea. Rostrum aurantium. Caput leviter cristatum. Pennæ hypochondriorum seu laterales cæteris multo longiores. Crura pedesque fusca.

Quod ad physicos Europæos hujus speciei notitia pervenerit, debetur omnino felici diligentiæ Ill. Domini D’ Orcy, qui tabellam archetypam depingi curavit, a qua delineata est figura quam amicissime nobiscum communicavit Dominus Woodford, unde hanc nostram mutuati sumus.

Certissime jam primo descripta est et inter aves quæ in America gignuntur, merito numeratur lautissimas. De moribus modoque vivendi prorsus siletur. Cum specimen descripserimus non modo pulchritudine sed et raritate commendatum, de venia desperare nolumus, licet fortasse ipsa avis in Museum Leverianum non adhuc sit relata.

Quamvis Coraciæ nomine distinxi, fatendum tamen est eam æquali fere jure ad genus Ampelis pertinere.

THIS most beautiful species of Coracias? is a native of Cayenne, in South America, and is not less remarkable for its extreme rarity, than for the superior splendor of its appearance; the whole bird (except the remiges or long wing-feathers and the tail, which are black) being of the richest and most vivid crimson. The beak is orange-coloured: the head slightly crested: the hypochondrial or side-feathers are considerably longer than the rest: the legs and feet are dusky.

This bird is an undoubted non-descript, and may be numbered amongst the most splendid birds of the American continent. Nothing is known of its particular history or manner of life. It was introduced to the knowledge of European 64 naturalists by the successful diligence of Mons. D’ Orcy, and from a drawing taken from the original painting in that gentleman’s possession, obligingly communicated by Captain Woodford, the present figure is copied.

Where specimens of such uncommon beauty and extreme rarity occur, their introduction into this work can surely require no apology, though the birds themselves may not yet be stationed in the Leverian Collection.

Though distinguished at present by the title of Coracias, or Roller, it must be confessed to belong with perhaps equal propriety to the genus Ampelis.

PIPRIS, quæ ut plurimum sunt parvulæ et minutæ, peculiaris quædam est formæ concinnitas pulchritudoque colorum. Species quam magnitudine naturali depinximus, physicis diu cognita, cum reliquis plerisque congeneribus in America Australi et calidiori præcipue cernitur.

Color imus est quasi holoserico-niger. Caput crista pulcherrime coccinea insignitur. Dorsum amœne cœruleum, ut et tectrices alarum minores. 66 Rostrum fuscum. Irides oculorum cœruleæ. Crura rubent. Femina tota, (ut perhibent) olivacea.

Pipræ minores pleræque sunt agiles et irrequietæ, moribusque ad Paros videntur accedere. Sylvas præcipue incolunt, et licet non omnino gregatæ coeant, amant tamen parvulis in numeris consociari.

THE Pipræ or Manakins are in general small, and most of them are remarkable for the peculiar neatness and beauty of their appearance. The present species has long been known to naturalists, and is found, like most others of its genus, in the warmer parts of South America.

Its prevailing colour is a fine velvet-black. The head is ornamented by a crest of the richest scarlet. The back is of a beautiful pale blue: the smaller 68 wing-coverts are also of this colour. The beak is brown: the irides of the eyes bright blue: the legs red. The female is said to be entirely of an olive-colour.

The birds are represented of their natural size. The smaller Manakins are in general of a lively, restless nature, and seem to approach in manners to the Pari, or Titmice. They chiefly inhabit woods, and are in some measure gregarious; being frequently met with in small flocks.

DUbitari fortasse possit sitne hæc species inter papiones potius quam inter simias vere et κατ’ εξοχην numeranda. E majoribus est sui generis, canemque fere æquat modicæ magnitudinis. Color nigerrimus, excepta corporis parte inferiore, quæ pallidior. Barba ingens et longissima, qua tota facies circumdatur, propemodum albet. Simia est morosi et ferocis ingenii.

Indiæ Orientalis varias partes incolit, insulam præcipue Ceyloniam, in sylvis ut plurimum degere gestiens. In Africa etiam interiori dicitur inveniri. In 70 Buffoni operibus jamdudum depicta est; figura tamen, alioquin optima, ipsissimam simiam non plene repræsentat; infauste enim accidit ut specimen unde delineata est, caudam haberet casu aliquo mutilatam.

Facilis sane et proclivis est in pravos errores via, magnaque inde physicis affertur molestia, si animal aliqua ex parte mancum et imperfectum fuerit; quod exoticis sæpissime solet evenire. Hanc ipsam ob causam in simiarum præcipue genere magna exorta est confusio, quod utcunque figuris et descriptionibus auctum sit et illustratum, restat tamen vel adhuc magna ex parte obscurum et ambiguum.

THIS is one of those species which might perhaps with greater propriety be placed amongst the Baboons than amongst Monkies strictly so called. It is an animal of considerable size, frequently equalling that of a middle-sized dog. Its colour is a deep black, except the under part of the body, which is of a lighter cast. The beard also, which is most uncommonly large and long, and which spreads round the whole face, is nearly white. It is a fierce and untractable species.

It is a native of the East Indies, and is particularly found in the Island of Ceylon, where it resides in woods. It is also said to be found in the 72 interior parts of Africa. This monkey has been figured in the works of the Count de Buffon, but unfortunately the figure, tho’ extremely good in all other respects, appears to have been taken from a specimen which had a mutilated tail; in consequence of which it does not convey a proper idea of the species.

These accidental mutilations, which occasionally occur in several exotic animals, are productive of considerable errors in the descriptions of authors, and no small confusion has resulted from this cause in the arrangement and enumeration of the different species of Simiæ, which with every assistance of figures and descriptions is yet involved in considerable obscurity.

AVES licet indicas et Americanas distinguat plerumque plumarum lautissima varietas, nescio tamen an hac specie revera exstet quæpiam elegantior; quæ modestius nitens diu et attente possit examinari, cum colores quibus pavo qui communis dicitur, magnificentius et splendidius coruscat, perstringant quasi oculorum aciem, tremulisque hebetent fulgoribus.

Color primarius languide fusco-pallet, punctis albicantibus tantum non rotundis creberrime aspersus; dorso, alis, caudaque maculas convexas pulcherrime 74 quasi amethystinas, non tam rotundas quam leviter ovatas copiose jactantibus; uniuscujusque centro lucide cœruleo. Gemmeo hoc aspectu nihil in avium natura inveniri possit mirabilius; non enim oritur convexitas macula a coloribus luce variatis, sed a vera ipsius pennæ prominentia; quod satis poterit probari si singulæ ex obliquo inspiciantur.

Chinam inhabitat Pavo Bicalcaratus, descripsitque eum primo fortasse Dominus Edwards, specimen ab India recenter advectum nactus. Magnitudine phasianum qui colchicus dicitur paulo superat. Notandum est armari, ut plurimum, utrumque crus binis calcaribus, unde a Linnæo bicalcaratus appellatur. Rostrum fuscum; mandibulæ superioris altiore parte subrubra. Pennæ capitis angustæ, elongatæ, cristam suberectam leviter reversam efficiunt.

AMONGST the beautiful diversity of plumage so strikingly displayed by many of the Indian and American birds, there is perhaps scarce any that exceeds in real elegance that of the species here represented. If it be said that the common peacock is more magnificently arrayed, it may be replied, that the eye, however delighted by the first appearance of that splendid bird, is almost wearied and oppressed by the gaudy radiance and profusion of brilliant hues; while the more sober lustre of the present species may be contemplated with a steady eye, and appears perhaps more truly captivating than that of the peacock itself.

The general or ground colour of this bird is a soft palish brown very thickly sprinkled with minute whitish rounded specks; while the wings and the tail are most richly adorned with a vast number of round, or rather slightly oval convex spots of a beautiful amethyst colour, which on the middle or central part of each is exalted into a brighter blue. This gemmeous aspect is one of the most curious phænomena that can be found amongst birds: the convex appearance of the spots being not merely owing to the varying lustre of each, but to a real convexity which takes place on every feather so marked, as appears very evidently when the feathers are viewed in profile.

It is a native of China, and was probably first described by Edwards, who took his figure from a bird then recently brought from India. In size it somewhat exceeds the phasianus colchicus, or common pheasant. It is remarkable that this bird is generally furnished with two spurs on each leg, for which reason Linnæus has given it a trivial name taken from that circumstance. The beak is dark brown, but the superior part of the upper mandible is reddish. The feathers on the head are narrow, elongated, and form an upright, slightly reversed crest.

BRADYPUS communis, seu tridactylus, quadrupedum miserrimus et turpissimus, in America calidiori solummodo nascitur, præcipue in Brasilia. Eorundem locorum incola est species quam depinximus; rarissime tamen etiam in India reperta est. Eadem fere est utrisque deformitas; agilior vero est didactylus: qui, teste Buffono, sæpius eodem die in arborem conscendere solet, quod tridactylus vel semel facere vix ægreque possit; cuique immensum esset iter si multis in horis quasi trecentarum ulnarum spatium rependo superaret.

Ambæ species moribus vivendique modo conveniunt, fructibusque et foliis vescuntur. Dentes primarios incisores plane nullos habent, solos autem laniarios et molares. Ambæ etiam hoc defensionis genere utuntur, quod robore brachiorum hostem constringant. Carentes enim agilitate, arctissimo tamen amplexu aufugiendi potestatem adimunt. Immo audacter dicitur Bradypos cum semel se animali alicui affixerint nullo modo posse avelli; sique eos canis temere lacessiverit, vix posse fieri quin sui ipsius vitæ dispendio pœnas luat et inedia enecetur. Sunt enim illi longissimæ famis patientissimi. Miro præterea robori additur ejulatus dirus et insolitus, qui vel ipse feras sæpissime in fugam vertere dicitur.

Color didactylo est sordide fuscus, artubus corpore nigrioribus. Trans frontem supra oculos discurrit paulum inæqualiter tænia nigra et lata. Oculi parvi hebetesque. Cauda vix visibilis. Ungues longissimi, maximi; fortiores tamen gerere videtur Bradypus tridactylus; a quo præcipue differt hic noster quod pedes anteriores duos tantum ungues habeant, posteriores tres; cum illius omnes tribus muniantur; quodque vellus sit mollius et tenuius.

THE common or three-toed Sloth, the most helpless and deformed of all quadrupeds, is peculiar to the hottest parts of America, and is principally found in Brasil. The species here represented is a native of the same parts of America, but is said to have been also found, tho’ rarely, in India. In its general appearance it is scarce less uncouth than the common species, but is not so extremely slow in its motions, being able, according to the Count de Buffon, to ascend and descend from a tree several times in a day whereas the three-toed species with difficulty performs that operation in a whole day, and can scarce crawl some hundred yards in the space of many hours.

Both species agree in their general habits and manner of life, living on fruit and leaves. They are remarkable for the total want of front teeth, and have only canine teeth and grinders. When these animals are attacked, they have no other mode of defence than what results from the great muscular strength of their fore legs, which though it does not enable them to resist by those strong and violent efforts which most quadrupeds exert when suddenly surprised, yet gives them a power of fastening so forcibly on the animal which attacks them, as to prevent all possibility of its escape; for it is affirmed that nothing can make this creature quit its hold when once it has fastened itself; and that if a dog should venture to attack it, it would in all probability lose its own life by being held by the Sloth till famished. To this may be added its dismal cry, which is said to repell other animals by its disgusting tone.

The colour of this species is a dusky brown; somewhat deeper on the limbs than on the body; and across the forehead, over each eye, runs a very broad and somewhat irregular band of black. The eyes are small and dull: the tail scarce visible: the claws extremely long and large, but scarce so strong as in the common Sloth. The fore feet are each furnished with two claws; the hinder ones with three; whereas in the common Sloth all the feet have three. To this may be added that the hair of this species is not so harsh and coarse as that of the three-toed Sloth.

PARADISEUM vocari solitum est hoc genus, dignum quippe putetur ob eminentem pulchritudinem quod Paradisum incolat. Speciem quam depinximus, præcipuam diu agnoverunt physici Europæi, elegantia certe nullis congeneribus cedentem, vestitu licet minus splendido decoretur.

Magnitudine est quasi turdi vulgaris. Color primarius pulchre nitideque ferrugineus, corporis inferioribus tantum non purpureis. Frons, rostrique basis 82 cingitur capistro aureo-viridi, quasi holoserico; nec alius collo antico color: caput flavescit. Hypochondria fasciculis longissimis subflavis, (interdum flavissimis,) plumarum pendentium decorantur, laxis, levibus, et tenellis, ut nihil supra; quas caudam plerique falso opinati sunt, cum vera cauda brevior sit, et his ipsis plumis fere abscondita.

In æthere tranquillo plurimæ hujusmodi aves gregatim convolant, nonnullæ separatim per aperta serena quasi fluitant, papiliones majores aliaque insecta prædantes. Sin increbuerit ventus de subito conversus, plumarum luxuria implicitæ in terram non raro decidere dicuntur, et facillime capi.

Existimarunt nonnulli, ab hac avi præter solitum venusta exortam esse veterum de Phœnice fabulam; cujus fortasse fides vel nunc non omnino obsolevit, quaque, undecunque originem duxerit, nulla poetis philosophisque magis inserviit. Cum specimina olim in Europam advecta pedibus cruribusque manca essent, increbuit vulgaris opinio quod avis penitus illis careat; quodque perpetuo volet, nisi cum quietis cupida, ope scaporum duorum a tergo postico prodeuntium, ab arbore se suspendat. Immo ipse doctissimus Gesnerus, oblitus deesse pennæ vim musculi, in eundem errorem incidit. Indiam Orientalem, Insulas præcipue Moluccas inhabitat pulcherrimum hoc avium genus.

IT is from the superior beauty by which most of the birds of this curious genus are distinguished that they have obtained the title of Paradise-birds: the chief or principal species, here exhibited, has long been known to the naturalists of Europe, and tho’ less splendid in its colours than some others of its genus, is perhaps superior to them all in point of elegance.

This bird is about the size of a thrush; and its prevailing colour is a beautiful bright ferruginous; the lower parts of the body being deeper or inclining more to purple than the upper. The front, all round the beak, is ornamented by golden-green velvet-like feathers, forming a sort of mask; and the fore part of the neck is of the same appearance. The head is yellowish. The lower parts of the sides are decorated with long tufts of hanging feathers, 84 generally of a yellowish colour, but in some specimens, (as in the present) of the richest and most beautiful yellow. These feathers are of a structure so peculiarly delicate, an appearance so uncommonly elegant, and of such an airy lightness, as to surpass all description. This part is commonly, but erroneously, termed the tail: the real tail is rather short, and is in great measure hid by the flowing plumes just mentioned.

In calm weather great numbers of these beautiful birds are seen flying in companies, as well as singly floating about, and pursuing the larger butterflies and other insects; but when the wind rises and becomes strong, or suddenly changes, they are embarrassed by their exuberant plumage, and are said not unfrequently to fall to the ground, and are thus easily taken.

It has been sometimes imagined that this bird, from its extraordinary beauty, gave rise to the celebrated fiction of the Phoenix, of which the belief is perhaps even yet not entirely extinct. What could have given rise to so extraordinary an idea is not easy to imagine: no fable however seems to have had a wider dominion, or to have been more frequently quoted by poets and moralists.

Another popular error relative to the Paradise-bird is its supposed want of legs; for as the specimens which were formerly imported into Europe were first deprived of their legs, it became a general idea that this species really had none: that it was almost perpetually on the wing; and that when it rested, it was by suspending itself from the branches of trees by the two long naked shafts which proceed from the lower part of the back; and even the learned Gesner, forgetting that this would imply a muscular structure in a feather, relates the same circumstance. These birds are natives of the East Indies, and are principally found about the Molucca Islands.

CAREAT licet hic psittacus forma elegantiore lautioribusque coloribus quibus reliquum plerumque genus insignitur, pretium tamen ei quodammodo facit raritas; cum ex iis sit speciebus quas immensa illa Novæ Hollandiæ insula physicis Europæis nuperrime suppeditavit.

Color primarius est saturatim fuscus, collo antico, abdominisque parte posteriore rubro-ferrugineis; qui color in nonnullis speciminibus totum etiam collum 86 torque angusto circumdat. Capitis vertex canescit. Dorsum, alæ, caudaque cinereo-fusca, non sine viroris obscurioris vestigio, cui superinducitur cupreus quidam splendor. Cinguntur oculi spatio nudo albicante seu cinereo.

Rostrum maximum, peraduncum, plumbeo-nigricat; nec longe ab hoc colore recedunt crura pedesque. Notandum est extremitates pennarum coloris esse saturatioris, unde fit ut tota avis quasi striata seu undulata videatur.

THE Parrot figured on the present plate, tho’ less distinguished either by beauty of colour or elegance of shape than most others of the genus, is yet highly important from its rarity; being one of the species which the ample regions of New Holland have lately afforded.

Its prevailing colour is a darkish brown; the fore part of the neck and the lower part of the abdomen are of a deep ferruginous red; and in some 88 specimens the red encircles the whole neck with a narrow collar. The upper part of the head is greyish; the back, wings, and tail cinereous-brown; with a cast of green, and varied by a sort of coppery gloss diffused over the whole. The eyes are surrounded by a bare whitish or ash-coloured skin.

The beak is most extremely large, hooked, and of a blackish lead-colour. The legs are nearly of the same appearance. The tips of the feathers in this species are of a deeper cast than the red of the feather; giving a sort of striated or undulated aspect to the whole bird.

IN avium genus inquirentes non diu latere possit deesse, ut plurimum feminis lautam plumarum varietatem, nimiam vero fere et prodigam fuisse naturam in decorandis maribus. Hoc nullibi manifestius quam in anatum genere; in ea præcipue specie de qua jam loquimur. Cum enim mas pulcherrimis coloribus insigniatur, splendeantque illius alæ amœnissime virides; hujus viriditatis pauxillum tantum in hac parte sortita est femina; reliqua tota infuscatur, striis aliquot obscurioribus undulata.

Sinam incolit venustissima hæc avis, magni habita, et in principum virorum aquis hortisque servata. In Japonia quoque conspicitur. Corpus superius colore est saturatim fusco, pennis aliquot albo marginatis. Pectoris pars inferior abdomenque albent. Caput insignitur crista e plumis viridibus et purpureis pulcherrime composita. Genæ albæ. Collum superius pennis parvis rubro-luteis, lanceolæ ad instar acuminatis, obtegitur; inferius cum pectore violaceo-purpureum. Alæ pars media seu speculum, cœruleo-viridi fulgens lucidissimum, a parte postica fascia alba et transversa terminatur. Corporis latera pennarum serie fusco-pallentium, lunulis albis nigrisque alternatim distinctarum, ornantur: habent tamen nonnulla specimina lineas tenues fuscas dense dispositas lunularum vice. Super humeros utrinque lunulæ aliquot altius impressæ.

Quod autem in avi præcipue mirandum, remiges duo interiores secundarii seu dorso utrinque proximi, cæteris longe latiores, surgunt lateribus in longitudinem erectis, quasi carbasis duobus similes. Colore sunt vivide ferrugineo, parte antica albo, postica nigro leviter cincta. Pennæ hæ præter solitum venustæ, quas cum primo videris, adeo sitas putares ut perpetuo periclitarentur, nec per unius horæ spatium manerent incolumes et intemeratæ, rarissime turbantur et horrescunt. Rostrum rubet. Crura pedesque aurantia.

In Angliam interdum cum femina illata est formosissima hæc avis; dubito tamen an unquam nostro sub cœlo fœtus protulerint.

NATURE in the major part of the feathered tribe seems to have lavished all her ornaments on the male; while the female, on the contrary, is often destitute of any peculiar brilliancy of plumage, and of an appearance altogether different from that of the opposite sex. This is no where more conspicuous than in the birds of the duck tribe; and the present species in particular is a most remarkable instance of this diversity of aspect; for while the male is distinguished by the beautiful colours exhibited in the annexed plate, the female is merely of a dull brown, varied with undulations of a deeper cast, and having but a slight approach towards the rich green which shines on the wings of the male.

This species is a native of China, where it is held in the highest esteem, and is kept in the ornamental waters and gardens of the principal Mandarins. It is also found in Japan.

The general colour of this bird on the upper part of the body, is a fine deep brown, with some of the feathers edged with white: the lower part of the breast and belly are also white. The head is ornamented by a crest of the most elegant structure, consisting of a mixture of green and purple feathers: the cheeks are white: the upper part of the neck of a yellowish red, and covered with small sharp-pointed feathers: the lower part of the neck, and the breast, are of a very fine deep violet-purple. The middle of the wings, or speculum, is of a most beautiful lucid blue-green, bounded on the hind part by a transverse bar of white. The sides of the body are ornamented by a series of pale-brown feathers, marked in some specimens by distinct alternate crescents of black and white, in others by fine close-set lines of brown. Just above the shoulders on each side are a few similar crescents still more strongly marked: but the most striking singularity in this species is the figure of the interior secondary remiges, or those nearest the body on each side; which are much broader than the rest, and stand with the vanes or webs upright, in a longitudinal direction, like a pair of small sails. These beautiful and singular plumes, which at first view seem scarce capable of being preserved an hour in their proper position, and which one would suppose liable from their situation to be deranged by a thousand accidental circumstances, are yet hardly ever seen in a disordered state. The beak is reddish: the legs and feet are orange-coloured.

This elegant bird is sometimes imported alive into our own country, but has rarely, (if ever,) been so far naturalized as to breed in this climate.

CUM quadrupede longe diverso ob generalem quandam similitudinem confunditur interdum hæc ursi species; cum mustela scilicet Gulone Linnæi. America Septentrionalis partes frigidiores incolit, in sylvis præcipue degere gestiens. Magnitudine est fere lupi minoris. Descripsisse eum et depinxisse primus videtur Dominus Edwards nomine Quickhatch, sive Wolverene.

Color generalis fusco-subflavescit, ab utraque dorsi parte deorsum nigrior decurrens super lateribus fascia paululum arcuata, quam subtus utrinque excipit linea angustior fusco-subflava. Crura corpore nigriora. Trans frontem ducitur fascia pallidior. Rostrum nigricat. Aures rotundatæ brevesque. Cauda longiuscula, modice villosa. Ungues magni, validi, uncinati.

Præda licet et rapinis vitam sustentet, non tamen adeo insatiabiliter sanguinem sitit; ut Gulo. Cum lentior incedat, animalibus insidietur necesse est, non cursu assequatur; moresque igitur Gulonis inter arbores latere dicitur, indeque casu subitaneo in prædam deferri.

THE animal here represented has sometimes been confounded with a very different quadruped: viz. the Mustela Gulo of Linnæus, or Glutton; to which it is indeed allied in general appearance, tho’ really a distinct species. It is a native of the colder parts of North America, and resides chiefly in woods. It seems to have been first described and figured by Edwards, under the name of the Quickhatch, or Wolverene.

Its size is that of a small wolf. Its colour a tawny brown; which on each side the back is much deeper, and spreads downwards in a somewhat arcuated 96 manner over the sides; and beneath this dark shade on each side is a narrower band of light yellowish-brown. The legs are of a darker colour than the body. Across the front runs a light-coloured band. The snout is blackish; the ears short and rounded: the tail moderately long and somewhat bushy: the claws large, strong, and crooked.

It is of a predaceous nature, but not of that immoderately voracious disposition by which the Glutton is said to be distinguished. Its pace is rather slow than quick; and in consequence of this it is obliged to lie in ambush for other animals, and to take them by surprise instead of pursuing them. Like the Glutton it is said to have a habit of lurking amongst trees, and suddenly dropping on its prey.

MYrmecophagæ a plerisque aliis quadrupedibus differunt non tantum externa specie, sed quod dentibus omnino carent; quod quidem, si solum genus Manis excipias, aliis nullis hactenus cognitis obtigit. Sunt tamen in œsophago Myrmecophagæ, testante Domino Broussonet, ossicula quadam dentibus similia.

Insectis solis vescitur Myrmecophaga, formicis præcipue et oniscis; quibus sane miro artificio insidiatur, linguam nempe lumbriciformem et longissimam 98 diu extendendo, adopertamque opima præda, viscido humore quo lingua obducitur illaqueata, in os subito retrahendo. Species hic depicta, diu captiva, carnes crudas in frustula dissectas comedere non recusabat. Hæc omnes congeneres magnitudine longe superat; eratque forsan ipsissimum specimen unde figura hæc nostra desumpta est, omnium quæ in Europam unquam illata sunt maximum.

Longitudo ejus est circiter septem pedes. Rudis est illi et quasi incultus aspectus. Color est fusco-cinereus; plagaque nigra lateralis ab humeris utrinque decurrit, sensim angustata, supraque albo fimbriata. Rostrum longum et tubulatum est. Cauda pilis nigris rudibus et longissimis vestitur. Super crura macula exstat nigra, paulo supra pedes sita. Pedes antici unguibus validissimis incurvis muniti sunt, qui profecto Myrmecophagam, dentibus licet carentem, hostem maxime formidandum reddunt: sæpe enim animalia externa specie seipsa longe majora, vulneribus sauciata, et continua pressura fatigata enecat, cum corporibus ungues infixerit, vastumque robur exercuerit.

Noctu evagatur Myrmecophaga, et interdiu in locis secretioribus obdormit: incessus ejus est lentior, moresque pigri et torpidi.

THE curious genus Myrmecophaga, or Ant-Eater, is strikingly distinguished from most other quadrupeds, not only by the general shape and appearance, but also by the total want of teeth; a particularity which takes place in no other quadrupeds yet known, except those of the genus Manis. There are however, according to the observations of Mons. Broussonet, certain bones not unlike teeth, situated in the gullet or œsophagus of the Ant-Eater.

The Ant-Eaters feed solely on insects, and particularly on ants and millepedes; and the manner in which they procure the insects is extremely curious. The animal thrusts out its tongue, which is shaped like a worm, and of a great length, and lays it amongst heaps of these creatures; and when by means of the viscid moisture with which it is covered, it is sufficiently loaded with insects, it then retracts it suddenly, and swallows them. In a state of captivity the species here represented has been known to feed on raw meat, cut very small. This species far exceeds in size all the rest of its genus, and the specimen from which this figure was taken is perhaps the largest ever brought into Europe.

Its length is upwards of seven feet. It is an animal of an aukward and uncouth appearance. Its colour is a dark grey; with a very broad band of black, running from the neck downwards on each side the body, and growing gradually narrower as it passes down. This black band is accompanied on the upper part by a streak of white. The snout is very long and tubular. The tail is black, and is furnished with coarse hair of a very great length. On each of the fore-legs is also a patch of black a little above the feet. The fore-feet are armed with extremely strong and crooked claws, which render this creature, tho’ destitute of teeth, a very formidable adversary, since it has been known to destroy animals of much greater apparent strength than itself; and fixing its claws upon them, exerts such powerful force as to kill them by laceration and continued pressure.

It is a nocturnal animal, and is said to sleep during the day in retired places. Its pace is somewhat slow, and its manners heavy and stupid.