THE TOUCAN". 



99 



IS :_ a 1 



There are many species of Toucan, all of which are easily re- 

 cognizable on account of the colors of the beak, for in all these 

 birds the enormous bill is decorated with strangely brilliant tints. 

 In one species the bill is rich orange and black, in another it is 

 scarlet and yellow, and in another it is green and red ; and in all 

 it is of enormous dimensions when compared with the body, and 

 is of great strength, though very light. Indeed, it is but a mere 

 shell of horny substance, in some places not thicker than writing- 

 paper, and colored by means of certain membranes in the interior, 

 which shine through the semi-transparent horn. 



It has long been known that the Toucan nested in hollow trees, 

 and that it preferred those cavities which could only be entered 

 by a small aperture, the reason for this predilection being rather 

 absurd. It was supposed that the young of the Toucan were lia- 

 ble to the attacks of monkeys and large birds of prey, and that 

 whenever the parent bird was alarmed, all she had to do was to 

 poke her beak out of the aperture. The assailant, on seeing such 

 a huge bill, fancied that an animal of corresponding size must be 

 behind it, and therefore fled from so doughty a foe. One writer 

 puts this idea in a very quaint manner. The monkeys, he sa}\s, 



