JUNGLE LIFE AT AREMU. 327 



the Robin-song type, Pheo-pha! although the resemblance to 

 a puppy's voice was also strong. They had been feeding on 

 seeds with a pinkish pulp which Francis called suluwafaddy. 



There were three Toucans in this group and when the first 

 old bird was shot the others returned and called continuously 

 and loudly. The third also came back to the same tree and 

 I found that this was the adult female. 



In this case as always, I did not take the life of a living 

 creature without some good reason: for sport, never but 

 either as food, or as in this instance as the only way to solve 

 a problem of scientific interest. I had noticed trios of Tou- 

 cans in many places and wondered whether the third bird 

 was an extra female or young. On the following day I 

 observed no fewer than five separate trios of Toucans of two 

 species, and now that I knew the dull-colored upper tail- 

 coverts were a clue to the young bird of the year, my high 

 power stereo glasses showed me a single young in each instance. 

 \Ye know practically nothing of the nesting habits of this 

 group except from vague accounts. So it is certain that in 

 this region the rule is that only one young bird is reared 

 to maturity. 



The loud hollow whirring of the wings of these- birds often 

 drew our eyes up to the tree-tops and we had many oppor- 

 tunities of watching them feed. The commonest way was 

 for them to creep out as far as they dared to the branch 

 tips and then crane their necks and bills to reach the fruit. 

 But often they adopted a more spectacular method. A trio 

 would beat heavily into a berry- lad en tree and perch quietly 

 a few moments, looking carefully in all directions for danger, 

 overhead for hawks and eagles, beneath and around for 

 monkeys, opossums and snakes. Then one would launch 

 out, make a flying leap at a pendent cluster of fruit, clutch 

 it frantically with its feet, and dangle and sway for ten seconds 

 at a time reaching out the while and filling its bill with 



