Zoological Illustrations Volume I Part 16

_A. (Div. 2.) testa apertura perversa: spira producta, 7-voluta, apice truncato; albida strigis nebulosis cinereis; linea transversa in basali anfractu; columella margineque labii exterioris castaneis, apertura intus alba._

Aperture reversed: spire lengthened, of seven volutions, the apex truncated, whiteish with clouded cinereous stripes; central band on the basal volution, pillar, and margin of the outer lip chesnut; mouth within white.

Reverse sh.e.l.ls, or such whose mouth when viewed in front is on the left side, are generally held in much estimation by collectors. This deviation from the usual form of sh.e.l.ls is sometimes accidental, as in our common garden Snail and several others; while in some species it appears a constant, and therefore a specific distinction. Such I apprehend is the case with the sh.e.l.l now figured, a rare and very elegant species, apparently not noticed by any writer; two or three existing in the British Museum and one in my father's cabinet are all the specimens I have hitherto seen. The latter (here figured) came from Bahia in South America. The whole sh.e.l.l is very finely marked with longitudinal striae, and the colouring better seen than described: the buff tinge at the base is occasioned by the remaining epidermis.

This sh.e.l.l belongs to the second division of the genus _Achatina_ as mentioned at Plate 30, having the aperture much shorter than the spire and the base nearly entire. _Bulla virginea_ of Linn. seems to connect the two divisions, having the lengthened spire of one and the truncated base of the other.

Pl. 37

[Ill.u.s.tration]

PROCNIAS cucullata.

_Hooded Berry-eater._

GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 21.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_P. corpore, collo, pectore nigro cucullata; tergo fusco, alis caudaque nigris; tegminum apice, pectoris lateribus, et corpore subtus flavis; capite subcristato._

Head, neck and fore-part of the breast hooded with black; back brown, wings and tail black; tip of the wing-covers, sides of the breast and body beneath yellow; head subcrested.

I am indebted for this new bird to Miss E. Yeates, who received it with a few others from some part of Brazil: it seems to connect the genera of _Ampelis_ and _Procnias_, having the bill much less dilated at the base than any of the latter; it however has a close similitude to _Procnias melanocephalus_ (Pl. 25.), which seems further removed from the true Chatterers.

Total length eight inches and three quarters. Bill in extreme length near an inch; the colour dark cinereous; the base furnished with bristles something resembling the Chatterers: the opening of the nostrils large, round, terminal, and nearly naked; the feathers on the crown lengthened; the whole head, neck, and fore-part of the breast black, bordered above by a narrow collar of yellow; back and scapulars brown, rump olive; sides of the breast, inner covers, and under parts uniform yellow; wing-covers black margined with olive, those on the shoulders tipt with brown, the rest with yellow; quills and tail black margined with olive. Wings four inches and three-quarters long, the first quill very short, the third longer than the second. Tail four inches long.

Pl. 38

[Ill.u.s.tration]

PICUS bicolor.

_Black and White Woodp.e.c.k.e.r._

GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 14.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_P. albus, collo supra, tergo, alis, lineaque temporali nigris, rectricibus nigris, basi maculisque marginis interioris albis._

White: neck above, back, wings, and line from the ears to the nape, black; tail-feathers black, with their base and spots on the inner margin white.

The simplicity of colouring in the plumage of this bird will easily distinguish it from among the numerous and intricate species already known of this family. It is one of the new birds the recent investigations of Brazilian zoology have added to our museums. The individual here figured was sent me from the district of Minas Geraies.

Total length eleven inches and a half. Bill from the upper base to the tip one inch one line, and from the gape one inch four-tenths; the colour blueish-black; the upper mandible above sharply carinated and slightly curved; orbits (in the dead bird) yellowish-white; the whole of the head and nape, sides of the neck, rump and tail-covers, and all the under plumage pure white, with a tinge of yellow down the middle of the belly: a narrow black line commences at the ears, and is carried down on each side, joining the black of the upper neck; the wings and remaining upper plumage are of a uniform dark sooty black; the tips of the quills much paler and brownish. Wings six inches and a half long; the inside covers black. Tail four inches, and black banded with white at the extreme base; the two outer feathers on each side with alternate black and white bands on the inner web their whole length; feet and claws dirty-greenish: this was a female.

Pl. 39

[Ill.u.s.tration]

HESPERIA Itea.

GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 28.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_Hesp. (Div. 2.) alis supra nigrescente-fuscis, subtus pallidioribus basi fulvis, anticis macula flava tri-fissa, posticis subtus margine exteriore et linea longitudinali fulvis, femoribus rufis._

H. (Div. 2.) Wings above blackish-brown, beneath paler, base fulvous.

Anterior with a three-cleft yellow spot. Posterior beneath with a fulvous outer margin and longitudinal line. Thighs rufous.

The descriptions left by Fabricius of this as well as many other extensive families of _Lepidoptera_, are in general so vague and short, that unless a figure is quoted to elucidate them, it becomes totally impossible to ascertain the precise species intended. Such is the case with the present insect, which will not agree with any described by Fabricius, or figured by Cramer.

During my travels in Brazil I never met with this species, but am indebted to my liberal friend Dr. Langdorff, Russian Consul-general at Rio de Janeiro, for the specimens I possess, as well as a number of other rare and fine insects of this family, which were then not in my own collection.

On each side of the palpi adjoining the eye are two yellowish round dots, and another behind: the posterior wings above have a narrow whitish margin, the colour beneath much paler; but the nerves on this, as well as at the tips of the anterior wings, are blackish-brown; the legs at the base and the tarsi are black.

This is a male insect; the other s.e.x I have not seen.