230 CANARIES AND CAGE-BIRDS. 



TOUCANS. 



IN some species of the Toucan the bill is upward of two inches broad, and seven 

 inches long ; and the wonder is, how so small a bird can manage comfortably with 

 such a burden. The question of questions seems to be. i; What will he do with it? " 

 The mediaeval naturalists, it is said, who saw the bill only, and not the bird, con- 

 cluded that the latter belonged to the order of Waders, and lived upon fish ; and 

 travellers were soon found to support this, erroneous conclusion by travellers' tales 

 of the usual romantic character. But later search proved beyond doubt that he was 

 an arboreal bird, and like the Parrot, the Trogon, and the Barbet. all belonging to 

 the same group, a fruit-eater. 



This fact being ascertained, Professor Owen suggested that the great toothed 

 bill was useful in holding and remasticatiug the food. Its purpose is explained, 

 however, in a much more satisfactory manner. 



' ' On the crowns of the great forest-trees of South America the flowers and fruit 

 grow principally toward the extremity of slender twigs. Now, as these are inca- 

 pable of sustaining any considerable weight, all animals feeding on fruit, or on the 

 insects which dwell in the flowers, must necessarily be provided with some means 

 of reaching their food from a considerable distance. Monkeys employ, as we 

 know, their long arms, and sometimes their tails. Humming-birds are gifted with 

 splendid organs of flight, and a strong muscular development ; so that they can sus- 

 tain themselves on the wing before the blossoms, the treasures of which they seek 

 to plunder. But the wings of the Trogon are feeble, and he is of a lethargic tem- 

 perament. He cannot take his food on the wing. What he does is, to take his 

 position on a low branch in the forest solitudes, and contemplate the fruits on the 

 surrounding trees, and, when stimulated at last to action b} 7 his appetite, darts off 

 to seize a mouthful, and, half-exhausted, returns to his former quiet perch. But 

 the Toucan, on the contrary, remains seated, and employs his enormous bill to 

 counterbalance the disadvantage he would otherwise experience through his awk- 

 ward and reluctant movements. The Toucan is nineteen inches long ; and his beak 

 measures six inches, or nearly one-third of his total length. The beak is orange 

 color on the upper part, and crimson below, with a broad stripe of black separating 

 the two brilliant colors. 



It is rendered light by being chiefly composed of a honey-comb structure of air- 

 filled cells, which are ever buoyant. Its edges are serrated, and they cut like a saw 

 when the bird seizes growing fruit. It seems to be very sensitive, and supplied 

 with nerves ; as the bird not only appears to enjoy holding meat or fruits with the 

 tip of his bill, but has been seen to scratch that organ with his foot, plainly proving 



