184 TROPICAL WILD LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA 



There are about seventy forms of toucans alive on the 

 earth today, and their home is in the tropical jungles of the 

 New World, from the lowland forests of southern Mexico 

 to the outlying palm groves of northern Argentina. The 

 bill is the dominant character in these birds, occasionally 

 exceeding the body in length and almost equaling it in bulk. 

 In most forms these exaggerated mandibles of horn, togeth- 

 er with the bare skin of the face, are stained and splashed 

 with the most brilliant and glaring of pigments. The plu- 

 mage itself is parti-colored, marked on various parts with 

 patches and bands of bright color. 



In spite of the interest both popular and technical 

 which these birds have aroused, and the papers and mono- 

 graphs which they have inspired in ornithological literature, 

 their life history has remained almost a blank. Our meagre 

 knowledge of these bizarre forms of life was summed up 

 over a century ago by Levaillant in a single sentence: "Les 

 kouliks sont fort communs a Cayenne, a Surinam, et dans 

 toute la Guyane; ils vivent dans les bois, nickent dans des 

 trous d'arbres, et frequentent les lieux cultives, ou ils cau- 

 sent beaucoup de degate aux fruits." 



They thrive well in captivity, but show no inclination 

 to nest or lay eggs. The sole exception is the instance of 

 a toucanet (Selenidera maculirostris) , which in July, 1913, 

 hatched one young in the London Zoological Gardens. No 

 details were recorded of this interesting occurrence. A sup- 

 posed egg of the yellow-billed toucan (Pteroglossus flavi- 

 rostris), collected by Indians in Peru has been described 

 several times. * 



In their tropical haunts toucans are among the most 

 conspicuous of birds, both to the eye, as when a pair flies 

 slowly overhead, or a small flock is seen hopping awkwardly 



'The most recent reference to this egg is in the Catalogue of Birds' Eggs 

 in the British Museum, III, 1903, p. 137. It is described as "elliptical in shape, 

 the ends being somewhat pointed, moderately glossy, and plain white. The shell 

 is smooth, but is covered with shallow pores and longitudinal furrows or grooves, 

 extending more or less from one end of the egg to the other. It measures 1.3 

 by .92 inches." 



