184 TROPICAL WILD IJi'E 1\ iiUITlSII (/LIANA 



There are about seventy forms of toucans alive on the 

 earth to(hiy, and their home is in tlie tropical jungles of the 

 New World, fi-om tlie lowland forests of southern Mexico 

 to tlie outlying ])alm groves of northern Argentina. The 

 ])ill is the dominant character in these birds, occasionally 

 exceeding the body in length and almost e(|ualing 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 populai* 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, on 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 [Sclenidera macuUrostris) , which in July, 1913, 

 hatched one young in the London Zoological Gardens. Xo 

 details were recorded of this interesting occurrence. A sup- 

 posed Ggg 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 

 c()ns})icuous of birds, both to the eve, as when a pair flies 

 slowly overhead, or a small Hock is seen hopping awkwardly 



' The most recent reference to this egg i.s in the Ciitalogue of Birds' Eggs 

 in tiie Hritish Museum, III, 1903, p. 13T. It is described as "elliptical in shape, 

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

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

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

 bv .92 inches.'' 



