////: Tin OAK 



Th. -re exists a very im. -noting account of ;n> Ari-1 !'. ...m :m.l it* habit*, which ha* been 

 fr.-.jii.-ntly quoted. I. ,n i so graphic a desrripti.-n that any work of t .n- w..uld l- 



\\itli.iut it. It is given l.y a gentleman fond of !>r 



After looking at tin- l>ird \vhi,-)i wa.s the ohj.vt <.f m\ vi-.it. :m.| which waa apparently in 

 the highest state of health, I asked tl:.- proprietor t<> him.: ii|. :i littl.- hird, that 1 might see 

 how the Toucan would U- atf.vt.-.l i-\ n> u prance. He aoon returned, bringing with him a 

 goldfinch, a last year'* lird ; tin- in-i;mt he introduced his luiml with tin- goldfinch int.. the 

 cage of the Toucan, the latter, which was on a perch, snat- li'--l it with his lull. Tli.- |-.r little 

 bird ha<l only time to utter u short, weak cry, for \\ithia a M*cond it was dead killed l.y com* 

 pression on the sternum und abdomen, and that go powerful, that th>- !.... 

 uft-r a very few squeezes of the Toucan'* l.ill. 



" As soon as the goldfinch waa dead, tin- Toucan hopped with it Mill in his l.ill to another 

 perch, and placing it with his bill between his right foot and tin- i--r.li. U-g-.m to strip off tin- 

 feathers with his l.ill. When he hnl plucked away most of them, he broke the boned of tin- 

 wings and legs (still holding the littl.- l>inl in the sjune ].. .-iu.'ii \\ ith his hill, taking the limb* 

 therein, and giving at the Hume time a strong lat-nil wrench. ll- continued this \\.ik with 

 great dexterity till he had almost reduced the I. ml to a ahapeleas mass ; and ever and anon he 

 would take his prey from the j*-n-h in his bill, and hop from perch to j-n-h. making at the 

 same time a peculiar hollow, clattering noise; ut which times I olwerved that his bill and winga 

 were affected with a vibratory or shivering motion, though the latter were not ex]>anded. 



"He would then return the bird to the j-rrh with his bill, ami x-t his f.M.t on it ; he fimt 

 ate the viscera, and then continued pulling off and swallowing pieoe after piece, till the head, 

 neck, and part of the sternum, with their soft parts, were alone left. These, after a little more 

 wrenching while they were held on the perch, and mastication, aa it were, while they were 

 held in the bill, he at last swallowed, not even leaving the beak or leg* of his prey. The hut 

 part gave him most trouble ; but it was clear 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 tongu- to it, now attempting to gorge it, und now making rtie 

 peculiar clattering noise, accompanied by the shivering motion above mentioned. The wlml<- 

 operation, from the time of seizini: his prey to that of devouring the last morsel, lasted about 

 a quarter of an hour; he then cleansed his bill from the feathers, by rubbing it against the 

 perches and liars of his cage. 



While on this part of the subject, it may be as well to mention another fact which 

 appears to me not unworthy of notice. I have more than once seen him return his food some 

 tini" aft-r he had taken it into his crop, and after maMicatitu: tin- morsel for awhile in his hill. 

 again swallow it ; the whole operation, particularly the return of the food to the bill, bearing 

 a strong resemblance to the analogous action in ruminating animals. The food on which I saw 

 him so employed was a piece of beef, which had evidently U-en macerated some time in his 

 crop. While masticating it, he made the same hollow, clattering noise as he made over the 

 remains of the goldfinch. 



Previous to this operation he had examined his feeding trough, in which there was 

 nothing but bread, which I saw him take up and reject, and it appeared to me that he was thus 

 reduced from necessity to the above mode of solacing his palate with animal f<md. His f.-.i 

 iDBBjtta of ''.. ' '. i ...:'.-.. -. . ' -:. vtt h I ' :<tV bW Ii MM tAdcd ibort 

 every second or third day. H-- !,, :i ,1,-,-Med preference for animal food, picking out 

 nil morsels of that description, and not resorting to the vegetable diet till all the former U 

 exhaust'-'l." 



When settlin-: itself t' sleep, the Toucan packs itself up in a very systematic manner, sup. 



portin.-r it- hu-.- Ix-.ik by rating it on its hick, and tuck -mpletely among the feather*. 



while it .louhl.'s it, t.,ii :i.-n its back. f it ni'.vedonaspring hinge. So completely 



is the bill hidd.-n anioni: th- f.-athers, that hani of it is vi.sihl.- in spite of its great 



Jit cok.r. an 1 the bird when sleeping look* like a great ball of loose ,* 



