All rights reserved. March, 1917. 



BIRD NOTES: 



THE 



JOURNAL OF THE FOREIGN BIRD CLUB. 



Some Toucans. 



Bv Wesif.v T. Paof;, F.Z.S. 



Toucans arc birds that arrest the attention at once, and 

 my owi: and many others' experien< e is that they receive more 

 notice from visitors than any other species. I have only kept 

 one or two species, but these have proved most interesting 

 birds, and in a roomy flight their antics are most amusing, 

 though in captivity I have never come across any that proved 

 as interesting as those described by Mr. Walter Goodfellow in 

 his "Naturalist's Notes in Ecuador "" in the " Avicultural 

 Magazine," for 1899-1900, and as many of our readers have 

 not access thereto. 1 am quoting his most interesting descrip- 

 tion of them almost /// exteiiso : 



"I think I must always have been fond of Toucans ... 

 " on in life I laecame possessed of a charming Sulphur-breasted Toucan, 

 " Svhich only inrreasfcl my love for the-se huils, s<j wlun I went out to 

 '■ Soutli -America, foi the first time two years ago, and -.aw them in 

 "their native foictts. my joy kne.v no bounds. How well I remember, 

 " the \ery tir-;! ones we saw I It was m Colombia, in that beauiifuj 

 " but uiilualih) belt of country between the I^acific and the first range, 

 "of the .Andes. ^\"e were travelling on to Call, and had just gone- 

 " through our first night of what we then thought roughing it. . . . 

 " We had wasted a lot of time during that first day's ride gazing at 

 "birds and nature arountl us. .So we werC' left alone and all our baggage and 

 "camp-beds far on ahead of us; the consequence was that when night 

 '' overtook us we were for -el to stop at a miserable shanty, and lay 



on a bare plank bed and used our riding boots as pillows. Our 

 " suppei consisted of a ^mall tin of sardines which we happened to have 



with us. Not being inured to such discomforts, our aching bones, 

 " refused to allow us to sleep, so we were up and had saddled our 

 "horses when ii was srarcely daylight, and started ofif on empty stomachs. 



As the sun rose multitudes of birds came from every tree and bush. 



