486 Mr. Broderip on the Manners of a Toucan. 



For the rest, I shall content myself with a simple narrative of what 

 I saw. 



After looking at the bird, which was the object of my visit, and 

 which was apparently in the highest state of health, I asked the 

 proprietor to bring up a little bird, that I might see how the Tou- 

 can would be affected by its appearance. The proprietor soon 

 returned, bringing with him a Goldfinch, a last year's bird. The 

 instant he introduced his hand with the Goldfinch into the cage of 

 the Toucan, the latter, which was on a perch, snatched it with his 

 bill. The poor little bird had only time to utter a short weak 

 cry ; for, within a second, it was dead, killed by compression on 

 the sternum and abdomen, and that so powerful that the bowels 

 were protruded after a very few squeezes of the Toucan's bill. As 

 soon as the Goldfinch was dead, the Toucan hopped with it still 

 in his bill to another perch, and placing it with his bill between 

 his right foot and the perch, began to strip off the feathers with 

 his bill. When he had plucked away most of them, he broke the 

 bones of the wings and legs (still holding the little bird in the 

 same position) with his bill, taking the limbs therein, and giving 

 at the same time a strong lateral wrench. He continued this work 

 with great dexterity till he had almost reduced the bird to a 

 shapeless mass ; and, ever and anon, he would take his prey from 

 the perch in his bill, and hop from perch to perch, making at the 

 same time a peculiar hollow clattering noise, at which times I 

 observed that his bill and wings were affected with a vibratory or 

 shivering motion, though the latter were not expanded. He would 

 then return the bird to the perch with his bill and set his foot on 

 it. He first ate the viscera and continued palling off and swal- 

 lowing piece after piece, till the head, neck, and part of the back 

 and sternum with their soft parts were alone left : these, after a 

 little more wrenching, while they were held on the perch, and 

 mastication, as it were, while they were held in the bill, he at last 

 swallowed, not even leaving the beak or legs of his prey. The last 

 part gave him the most trouble ; but it was clear to me that he felt 

 great enjoyment ; for, whenever he raised his prey from the perch, 

 he appeared to exult, now masticating the morsel with his 

 toothed bill, and applying his tongue to if, now attempting to gorge 



