112 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



conspicuously, like gold, in the sunbieams. Sometim'es 

 it may be seen aJone or in small parties, seated near 

 each other, but huaiiting quite independently. It frc- 

 'tiueuitly tates tiwo or tiliree insects before it re-seats itself 

 on its perch, and in the morning and evening they 

 collect in consddei-aible nura'bers, and, oiften in comp'Miy 

 with Swallows, hawk actively abouit for some time. I 

 ihave seen one ocoasionally pick an insect off a branch. 

 or a .=tali!i of ^-ain or gi'ass ; and ilr. Blyth informs me 

 rt'hat he has seen a number of them assem'bled i-ound a 

 small tank, seizing olbjects from the ■waiteT, in the 

 manner of a Kingfisher. 



"Tbey roost generally in some special spot, sometimes 

 ;a few together in one tree ; buit at some stations all the 

 birds for some milees around appear to oongi'egate and 

 roost in one favoured locality. The bamboo tops at San- 

 ger is a celebrated spot of this kind. Here Crows, 

 Mynas, ParrakeeU, Bee-eaters, Sparrows, etc., collect 

 from miles aax>und, and the noise they make towardis 

 sunset and early in the morning is deafening. 



"The Bee-eater has a loud, ratihea- pleiasanit, rollinig, 

 nvhistling note, which it often repeats, especially in the 

 morniiiig and toiwards the evening, and cn'ten ■whilst 

 ihunting. They sometimes collect in small parties 

 towards sunset on a road, and roll themselves albouit in 

 the sand and dust, evidently with great pleasure. 



■■ They breed in holes, in banks of ravines or of 

 rivers, 'and on road-sides, laying two to four white 

 t'ggs. Burgess mentions that in a nest that ha examined 

 there were three young ones, all of different ages. They 

 lireed from -March to July, according to the locality, 

 earlier in the north of India, later in the south. Mr. 

 Bli.'th observed them breeding near Jloulmein as lata 

 as the middle of Aua,ust." 



Russ says that Emil Linden received one of these 

 birds from* Miss Chri.'itia.ne Hagenbeck under the name 

 of " Bee-eater from the Cape," which he possessed for 

 a number of years, although he had not received it in 

 good condition. He fed it for a great part of the year 

 upon Tanager food, as well as mealworms and cur- 

 rants, of which it cxHisumed a considerable amount 

 daily ; also for a short part of the year it received bees, 

 wasps, etc., wasps being particularly supplied in the 

 autumn, when they were abundant. He kept it in a 

 cage by itself, as he dared not trust so delicate a 'bird 

 with others. Its cage was placed in a lofty position, 

 and as soon as it saw him raise the ladder it became 

 aware that its master was bringing it fresh food, and 

 began to gi'eet him with a very pleasing and loud 

 whistle, which it prolonged variously into certain har- 

 monies resembling the song of the "Chinese Laughing- 

 Thrush iLeiienrlioplniii rfiinrnais). to which Mr. Linden 

 thought it might have listened. The bird was not shy, 

 hut confiding, and would take a mealworm from his 

 fingers; it was not a greed v bird, and aJways left a 

 good deal of its food untouched. It is somewhat strange 

 if this Bee-eater actually mimicked the song of a Laugh- 

 ing-Thrush. I do not think the species of Merops are 

 usuallv resarded as imitative birds. 



Mr.' Phillipps, who offered a bee to his young Euro- 

 pean Bee-eaters, says that the bird which accepted the 

 insect failed to cripple before .swallowing it. and 

 evidently got stung inside in consequence, as it teemed 

 to he in'some trouble afterwards ; but probably an adult 

 bird would be more circumspect. 



TOUCANS {BlwmphiMihn). 



These are strikingly coloured arboreal New World 

 birds of bizarre appearance, perhaps more nearly re- 

 lated to the Capitonidm than to any other family, 

 having enormous compressed bills almost like the claw 

 of a lobster, with arched culmen, terminating in a 



decurved tooth, the cutting edges sub-serrate or undu- 

 lated, and the tongue long and fringed or feather-like, 

 in which last characters they somewhat resemble the 

 Motmots, though in other respects they differ greatly 

 from them. The bUle of the sexes differ a good deal, 

 that of the male being usually very distinctly longer, 

 and, when viewed in profile, frequently narrower and 

 with the culmen less ai-ched than in the female. The 

 wings are short, and api>ear weak, but the birds fly 

 swiftly and in a direct line, and the feet have two toes 

 directed forwards and two backwards. 



As might be expected. Toucans hop clumsily on the 

 earth, but move actively among the branches of trees. 

 They nest in holes in trees and lay white eggs. Their 

 food in a wild state consisits of various fruits, insects, 

 small birds and mammals. In captivity grapes, soaked 

 sultanas, i^ed or white currants, banana, pear, apple, or 

 the pulp of orange cut up small, insects, a small bird 

 or mou.=e occasionally, and a good insectivorous .soft 

 food, containing egg and ants' eggs, are most suitable. 

 They are fond of bathing, but shoiUd not be exposed 

 to extreme cold ; therefore in winter the.v should be 

 kept indoors. 



When at roost Toucans bury their huge bills in the 

 feathers of the back, and turn back their tails, which 

 are cap-able of remarkable vertical movement ; this gives 

 them a ver5- strange appearance. 



GRE.iT-BILLKD OR ToCO ToUC.iN" (lihaill J/haatuS tOCo). 



General colour black ; rump, throat, and fore-neck 

 white, the latter slightly tinged with yellow and nar- 

 rowly margined behind with red ; lower tail-coverts 

 crimson ; bill orange, the upper mandible with a large 

 oval black blotch near the extremity ; irides green and 

 yellow with a broad blue orbit ; naked oAital skin 

 orange. Female with a much shorter bill, narrower at 

 base (which is unusual). Hab., Guiana, Lower Amazon, 

 Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and N. Argentina. 



Mr. E. W. White (" Proceedings of the Zoological 

 Society," 1882, p. 620) says:— "This Toucan I shot 

 among the lofty forest-trees ; they go generally in large 

 flocks, and their flight is extremel.y swift, and in a 

 straight line. 



" They are wild, and by no means plentiful in this 

 neighbourhood ; but in itisiones I likewise met with 

 them in greater abundance, where they, in company 

 with the Parrots, commit dreadful havoc amongst the 

 orange-groves." 



Mr. J. G. Kerr, writing on the "Birds of the Gran 

 Chaco" {Tlie Ibis, 1901, p. 217), says: "I must not 

 forget to mention the Toco Toucan {h'/iamphastos toco), 

 of which small companies were often noticed flying 

 across from one piece of woodland to another." Later 

 on he speaks of a "flock of five," seen at Villa Concep- 

 tion on September 28th. 



Schomburgk stated that at times this species de- 

 voured the fruits of the various kmds of Siianish pepper 

 {Capsifiim] ; also, that in captivity it accepted alt 

 varieties of humian food, including flesh and fish ; never- 

 theless he doubted whether the bird itself ever cap- 

 tured fish, small lizards, and birds, as several other 

 writers have asserted. Bui-meister also observed that 

 no authentic obiservation of the fact had come to his 

 knowledge ; nevertheless, I have seen a much smaller 

 Toucan chasing Span-ows. and there can be_ no doubt 

 that 'these birds do vary their fruit diet in this manner. 



This species first reached the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1863, since which time it has come to hand 

 fairlv frequently, the last recorded in the ninth edition 

 of the Societv'.s'List havina been received in 1894: it 

 arrived at the Amsteixlam Gardens as long ago as 1851. 

 From its great size (22 inches), it is hardly suitable for 



