[Illustration: THE BANANA EATER (_Musophaga violacea_).]
The BANANA EATER (_Musophaga violacea_) is met with in the forests of
Agra, upon the Gold Coast, and is replaced by a very similar bird in
Western Africa. This species is distinct from its congeners by the
peculiar formation of its beak, the upper mandible being covered for a
considerable extent by a horny plate, which is also spread over a large
portion of the forehead; the beak itself is very powerful, and arched
broadly from the brow to the tip, where it terminates in a slight hook,
projecting over the somewhat feeble inferior mandible; the edges of
the bill are indented, and the nostrils are situated in the fore part
of the upper beak. The bridles and a patch around the eyes are quite
bare; the wings are of medium length, their secondary quills longer
than the primaries; the tail is comparatively short, broad and rounded
at its extremity; the feet are short but powerful. Swainson speaks in
glowing terms of the beauty of this species--he regards it as truly a
king among birds, and describes its plumage as being principally of a
rich, lustrous, purple black, the splendour of which is enhanced by the
contrast presented by its magnificent bright red wings; the beak is also
very striking in appearance, being of a bright yellow, shading into
brilliant red. The soft and delicate feathers which cover the top of the
head resemble brilliant red velvet; the rest of the plumage is deep
violet, and shines with a beautiful green light when seen in the rays of
the sun; the quills are red, tipped with violet, and shaded with lilac;
the bare places round the eyes are also red, and are thrown into strong
relief by a dazzling white streak, which passes beneath them; the feet
are black, the eyes brown. The young are without the small red velvety
feathers upon the top of the head, but in other respects their plumage
resembles that of the old birds. The length of this species is about
twenty inches, the wings and tail measure eight inches and a half.
We are acquainted with but few particulars concerning the Banana Eater,
which, until the last few years, has been numbered amongst the greatest
rarities of our collections; but we learn from travellers that it
inhabits the western coast from Senegambia to Lower Guinea, living in
pairs, and passing nearly the whole of its life in the same locality;
its movements, habits, voice, and food, seem to differ but slightly from
those of its congeners with which we are more familiar.
[Illustration: THE WHITE-CHEEKED HELMET BIRD (_Corythaix leucotis_).]