THE TOrCANS. 3G3 



lie had examined liis feeduig-troiigh, in which there was nothing but bread, which I saw 

 him take up and reject ; and it appeared to me that he was thus reduced from necessity 

 to the above mode of solacing his palate with animal food. His food consists of bread, 

 boiled vegetables, eggs, and tlcsh, to which a little bird is now added about every 

 second or third day. He shows a decided preference for animal food, picking out all 

 morsels of that description, and not resorting to the vegetable diet till all the former was 

 ■exhausted. 



" It is said tliat the uer\'es are very much expanded within the internal surface of the 

 bill in these birds ; and independently of the sensual enjoyment which the toucan above 

 mentioned appeared to derive from palating his prey, I have observed him frequently 

 scratching his bill with his foot, which may be observed as furnishing additional evidence 

 of thp sensibility of this organ. While taking his prey, he never used his foot for the 

 purpose of conveying it either to his bill or elsewhere. The bill was tlie sole vehicle, 

 and the organ actively employed ; the foot merely confined the prey on the perch." 



Among the peculiarities of the bird exhibited in St. Martin's-lane, there was one that 

 cannot be passed over in silence. When he settled himself to roost, he sat a short time 

 with his tail rctroverted, so as to make an acute angle with the line of liis back ; he then 

 tui'ued his tail over the right shoulder, nestling it on the soft plumage of the back — on 

 which last the under mandible rested — till the bill was so entirely covered that no trace 

 of it was visible. When disturbed, he did not drop his tail, but almost immediately 

 returned his bill to the comfortable nidus from which, on being disturbed, ho had with- 

 drawn it. He broke some of his tail-feathers, but before that accident the toucan, when 

 at roost, retroverted his tail so entirely that the upper surface of the tail-feathers lay 

 over and came in contact with the plumage of the back ; so that the bird had the appear- 

 ance of a ball of feathers. It appears that he always roosted in the same way. 



Mr. Vigors kept a toucan in a state of domestication for many years, and of it he has 

 given many interesting particidars. It was not allowed to be indulged in that disf)osition 

 to animal food which so strildngly belongs to its family. Mr. Vigors found it thrive 

 sufficiently well on a vegetable diet, and feared that if it were ever allowed any other, it 

 would be difficult to restrain its inclination for it within moderate limits. Eggs were the 

 only animal food with which it was supplied. Of these it was particularly fond, and they 

 were generally mixed up in its ordinary food, consisting of bread, rice, potatoes, German 

 paste, and similar substances. 



It deKghted in fruits of all kinds. During the period v,dien these were fresh, it fed 

 almost exclusively on them. Even in winter it exhibited great gratification in being 

 offered pieces of apples, oi'anges, or preserved fruits of anj^ description. These it 

 generally held, for a short time, at the extremity of its bill, touching them with apparent 

 delight with its slender and feathered tongue, and then conveying them by a sudden 

 jerk to its throat, where thej' were caught and instantly swaUovv^ed. Its natural 

 propensity to preying upon animals, though not indulged, was still strongly conspicuous. 

 When another bird approached its cage, or even a skin or preserved specimen were 

 presented to it, considerable excitement was exhibited. It raised itself up, erected its 

 feathers, and uttered the hollow clattering sound which seemed to be the usual 

 expression of delight in these birds ; at the same time, the irides of the eyes expanded, 

 and the toucan seemed read}' to dart at its prey, if the bars of its cage permitted its 

 approach. On one occasion, when a small bird was placed bj^ chance over its cage at 

 night, it showed great restlessness, as if aware of the neighbourhood of the bird ; and it 

 would not be composed till the cause of its disquietude vras discovered and removed. 



When in its cage, the toucan was pecidiarly gentle and tractable, suffered itself to bo 

 played with, and fed from the hand. Out of its cage it was wild and timid. In general 

 it was active and Kvcly ; and, contrary to what might be expected, from the ai^pareut 



