518 



A HISTORY OF 



with blue, black, and white. But it may be 

 distinguished from all others by a sort of naked 

 tubercles or warts near the eyes, which still 

 farther contribute to increase its beauty. 



To this class may be added a numerous list 

 from all the tropical forests of the east and west; 

 where the birds are remarkable for discordant 

 voices and brilliant plumage. I will fix only 

 upon one, which is the most singular of all the 

 feathered creation. This is the Toucan, a 

 bird of the pie kind, whose bill is nearly as 

 large as the rest of its whole body. 



Of this extraordinary bird there are four or 

 five varieties. I will only describe the red- 

 beaked toucan ; and as the figure of this bird 

 makes the principal part of its history, I will 

 follow Edwards through all the minutiae of its 

 singular conformation. It is about the size of 

 and shaped like a jackdaw, with a large head 

 to support its monstrous bill ; this bill, from 

 the angles of the mouth to its point, is six in- 

 ches and a half; and its breadth, in the thick- 

 est part, is a little more than two. Its thick- 

 ness near the head, is one inch and a quarter; 

 and it is a little rounded along the top of the 

 upper chap, the under side being round also ; 

 the whole of the bill is extremely slight, and a 

 little thicker than parchment. The upper chap 

 is of a bright yellow, except on each side, which 

 is of a fine scarlet colour ; as is also the lower 

 chap, except at the base, which is purple. 

 Between the head and the bill there is a black 

 line of separation all round the base of the 

 bill ; in the upper part of which the nostrils 

 are placed, and are almost covered with fea- 

 thers ; which has occasioned some writers to 

 say, that the toucan has no nostrils. Round 

 the eyes, on each side of the head, is a space 

 of bluish skin, void of feathers, above which 

 the head is black, except a white spot on each 

 side joining to the base of the upper chap. 

 The hinder part of the neck, the back, wings, 

 tail, belly, and thighs, are black. The under 

 side of the head, throat, and the beginning of 

 the breast, are white. Between the white on 

 the breast, and the black on the belly, is a 

 space of red feathers in the form of a new 

 moon, with its horns upwards. The legs, feet, 

 and claws, are of an ash-colour ; and the toes 

 stand like those of the parrot, two before, and 

 two behind. 



It is reported, by travellers, that this bird, 

 though furnished with so formidable a beak, 



j is harmless and gentle, being so easily made 

 ' tame, as to sit and hatch its young in houses. 

 It feeds chiefly upon pepper, which it devours 

 very greedily, gorging itself in such a manner, 

 that it voids it crude and unconcocted. This, 

 however, is no objection to the natives from 

 using it again ; they even prefer it before that 

 pepper which is fresh gathered from the tree : 

 and seem persuaded that the strength and heat 

 of the pepper is qualified by the bird, and that 

 all its noxious qualities are thus exhausted. 



Whatever be the truth of this report, nothing 

 is more certain than that the toucan lives only 

 upon a vegetable diet; and in a domestic stale, 

 to which it is frequently brought in the warm 

 countries where it is bred, it is seen to prefer 

 such food to all other. Pozzo, who bred one 

 tame, asserts, that it leaped up and down, 

 wagged the tail, and cried with a voice re- 

 sembling that of a magpie. It fed upon the 

 same things that parrots do ; but was most 

 greedy of grapes, which, being plucked off one 

 by one, and thrown into the air, it would most 

 dexterously catch before they fell to the ground. 

 Its bill, he adds, was hollow, and upon that 

 account very light, so that it had but little 

 strength in so apparently formidable a weapon; 

 nor could it peck or strike smartly therewith. 

 But its tongue seemed to assist the efforts of 

 this unwieldy machine : it was Jong, thin, and 

 flat, not unlike one of the feathers on the neck 

 of a dunghill cock; this it moved up and down, 

 and often extended five or six inches from the 

 bill. It was of a flesh colour, and very re- 

 markably fringed on each side with very small 

 filaments, exactly resembling a feather. 



It is probable that this long tongue has 

 greater strength than the thin hollow beak that 

 contains it. It is likely that the beak is only 

 a kind of sheath for this peculiar instrument, 

 used by the toucan, not only in making itself a 

 nest, but also in obtaining its provision. 

 Nothing is more certain, than that this bird 

 builds its nest in holes of trees, which have 

 been previously scooped out for this purpose; 

 and it is not very likely that so feeble a bill 

 could be very serviceable in working upon 

 such hard materials. 



Be this as it will, there is no bird secures its 

 young better from external injury than the 

 toucan. It has not only birds, men, and 

 serpents, to guard against, but a numerous 

 tribe of monkeys, still more prying, mischiev- 



