Zoological Illustrations, Volume 1: or, Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting AnimalsSwainson, William
Science
Zoological Illustrations, Volume 1: or, Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals
Swainson, William
Animals -- Pictorial works
The Tinamous are entirely confined to the new world, where they seem to
hold the same scale in creation which the Partridges do in the old
continent. Our knowledge of these singular birds has been much increased by
the writings of Professor Temminck, who has described twelve species. The
present bird is nearly the smallest of its family: I found it only once in
the interior of Bahia in Brazil, where it must be very rare, or frequent to
particular districts only. Though differing in some respects from the
description of Temminck, I am inclined to consider it merely as a variety.
Total length (excepting the legs) eight inches and a quarter. The bill is
one inch one line long from the gape, and, with the irides, is red. The
head and neck above blackish cinereous; the crown much darker and tinged
with brown, the rest of the upper plumage uniform reddish-brown; the edges
of the wing-covers tinged with pale cinereous; the spurious wings and
quills greyish-brown; the chin is white, changing on the throat, neck,
breast and their sides to a pale lead-colour, which, on the body, again
becomes white; the feathers on the flanks are blackish or rufous,
beautifully margined all round by white, with another internal mark of the
same kind; those on the vent are similarly marked, but on a pale rufous
ground; the thighs are rufous-white; the under tail-covers rufous, marked
by narrow undulated concentric lines of black, the ends whitish. The length
of the legs (from the knee to the base of the middle toe) one inch two
lines, and from that to the tip of the claw one inch. Legs blueish-purple.
Hind toe very short, and elevated above the ground.
* * * * *
Pl. 20
[Illustration]
PICUS Braziliensis.
_Brazilian Woodpecker._
* * * * *
GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 14.
* * * * *
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_P. olivaceus, subtus fulvus, nigrescente-fasciatus; capite
subcristato, supra rubro, utrinque lineis olivaceis, fulvis, et
rubris._
Olive Woodpecker: beneath fulvous, with transverse blackish bands. Head
sub-crested, above red, the sides with olive, yellow, and red streaks.
P. Braziliensis, Swains. in Wern. Trans. 3. p. 291.
* * * * *
A new species of this already extensive family, inhabiting the interior of
Brazil in the province of Bahia, where I met with it but once. It was, I
believe, first described in a paper I sent to the Wernerian Society some
time ago: the figure is less than the natural size.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account