HOMES OF TOUCANS 



195 





Photo by P. Q. H. 

 FIG. 52. EGGS AND NESTING MATERIAL OF RED-BILLED TOUCAN 



been cleft. No human power could now undo the harm al- 

 ready wrought, yet for a few seconds which seemed minutes, 

 there was no movement, no sound. Even the rain had ceased. 

 The goldbirds were silent. 



Then, still without a sound, the great trunk gently 

 leaned away, and slowly, very slowly, began its final descent. 

 A huge liana cable, half way up, snapped with a sharp re- 

 port, then there were no more isolated sounds, but a gradu- 

 ally ascending roar, like the sudden onslaught of a great 

 hurricane. Trees, saplings and palms, whole riggings of 

 lianas, and finally shrubs and tree-ferns went down like 

 grass before the terrific impact of the tree. With a deep 

 reverberating boom the trunk struck the ground and re- 

 bounded. It was a hollow, subdued explosion of sound as of 

 some subterranean catastrophe, and was plainly heard at the 



