EAMPHASTID^. 305 



treeSj the large beaks of tlie Toucans give them a 

 certain air of gravity ; but this is vastly increased by 

 the attitude they assume in repose. When they 

 perch quietly, they puff out their plumage until they 

 look like a round ball of feathers ; at the same time 

 the tail is thrown up over the back, the head is re- 

 tracted, and the enormous bill laid sometimes on one 

 side, sometimes on the other, or moved from side to 

 side, and raised and depressed in a manner re- 

 sembling so much the gesticulations of an orator 

 addressing a numerous assembly, that, coupled with 

 the serious aspect of the birds, it has obtained for 

 them, from the French Creoles in Guiana, the name 

 of oiseaux 'precJteurs, or preaching birds. They breed 

 in the holes of trees, usually taking possession of 

 such as have been enlarged by the Woodpeckers. 

 Here they lay two eggs of a white colour and round- 

 ish form. Toucans occur in vast numbers through- 

 out the forests along the course of the Amazon. 

 When they alight, and begin climbing the trees, one 

 of them acts the part of a sentinel, uttering a loud cry 

 of tiLcdno, from which their name is derived. When 

 the whole flock raise their loud and not over- 

 melodious voices in concert, they produce a harsh 

 scream that may be heard at the distance of a mile. 

 Mr. Edwards tells us that these birds, when tamed, 

 may be taught as many tricks as a parrot, but they 

 are destitute of the faculty of speech. 



The t}^e of this family is — 



The Beauharnais, or Curl-crested Toucan {Pteroglossus 

 Beauha rnaisii). 



