132 ABYSSINIAN HORNBILL. 



tongue of the Toucan is very singular : it is long, flat, 

 thin, and not unlike a feather ; and in their play the birds 

 frequently extend it to the distance of five or six inches 

 out of their bill. 



The Toucan is about twenty inches in length. The bill 

 is six inches long, and nearly two inches thick at the base. 

 The plumage of the upper parts of the body, the throat, 

 and neck, is blackish. The breast is yellow, the belly 

 red, the rump black, and the tail-quills are tipped with 

 red. The bill is greenish-yellow, somewhat red at the 

 tip. These birds are natives of several parts of South 

 America, but particularly of Guiana and Brasil. 



Toco, or White-throated Toucan. The disproportion 

 betwixt the size of the bird and the bill, in this species, 

 is more remarkable than in any other. The Toco is 

 nine or ten inches in length, and the bill measures at 

 least seven and a half. This is of a reddish-yellow 

 colour, black at the base and at the tip of the upper man- 

 dible. The plumage of the back is reddish, and of the 

 chin, throat, and rump, white. The orbits of the eyes, a 

 small circle on the breast, and a spot under the tail are 

 red. 



7. HORNBILL TRIBE. 



The Hornbills are all inhabitants of hot climates. In 

 many respects their habits of life are similar to those of 

 the toucans. 



Abyssinian Hornbill. The bill of the toucan appears 

 greatly disproportioned ; that of the Hornbill is not less 

 so, but in a very different way. It has, on the upper 

 part, a horny protuberance, of considerable size, the 



