486 TOUCANS. 



of tree trunks. When the gapo is flooded, they fly to the 

 drier ground, assembling in large flocks, when they are easily 

 shot by the hunters. The birds are then very fat, and their 

 flesh sweet and tender. 



In some species the bill is nearly as large and as long as 

 the body itself It is light, cellular, and irregularly notched 

 at the edge, having both mandibles arched towards the tip. 

 The tong-ue is also of a singular form, being narrow and 

 elongated, and literally barbed like a feather. The feet are 

 short — formed, like those of parrots, rather for grasping than 

 for climbing ; the tail long, and the wings moderate. It has 

 a straight but laborious flight, and seems awkward, except 

 on the boughs, when it moves lightly and actively from 

 branch to branch. When eating, it throws up its head, ap- 

 parently to allow the food to fall down its throat with gTcater 

 ease. WHien the toucan is at roost, it turns its long tail 

 directly over its back, and thrusts its beak beneath the wing, 

 so as to appear very much like a large mass of feathers. 



The common or crested toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus) in- 

 habits chiefly the lower part of the Amazon. It is about 

 eighteen inches in length, of a black colour, with a gloss of 

 gi^een. The cheeks, throat, and fore part of the breast are 

 either of a sulphur or orange-yellow. Across the lower part 

 of the breast is a broad crimson bar. The rump is crimson 

 or orange-yellow. The bill is of a dark olive-green, with a 

 pale yellow l)ase, bounded by a thick l)ar. 



The tocano pacova has a beak of a rich glowing orange, 

 with a large patch near the tip, a black line round the 

 base, and a numT)er of dark red bars upon the sides. The 

 body and head are black, the throat and cheeks white ; while 

 the breast is of a yellow brimstone hue, edged with a line of 



