TOUCANS. 



101 



the great wooded regions of Amazonia. They are easily recognised by 

 the extraordinary shape and size of the bill, only rivalled by that of 

 the Hornbills, and may be regarded as representing the latter birds in 

 South America. In spite of its great bulk, the bill, though strong, is 

 remarkably light, the thin external walls being supported by a delicate 

 network of bony fibres, forming cells to which the air has constant 

 access. They feed chiefly on fruit, varying this diet with insects, eggs, 

 and young birds. The peculiar long, very slender tongue, with barbed 

 edges, is not adapted for conveying food to the pharynx, and each 

 morsel is swallowed by throwing back the head and allowing it to drop 

 into the gullet. In spite of their zygodactylous feet these birds do not 

 climb like the Woodpeckers, but jump from branch to branch after the 

 manner of Hornbills. Not only the long, soft plumage, but the bill 

 and naked parts of the face are ornamented with the brightest colours. 

 When roosting, Toucans have a remarkable habit of raising the tail and 

 bending it forwards over the back (as shown in the mounted example 

 of the Orange-breasted Toucan (Rhamphastos vitellinus) (1439). They 

 are able to assume this position owing to the perfect ball-and-socket 

 articulation of the caudal vertebrae. About sixty species are recognised 

 and grouped into the five genera Rhamphastos, Andigena (1440-1442), 

 Pteroylussus, Selenidera, and Aulacorhamphus , and all, so far as is known, 

 deposit oval white eggs in the hollow limbs of tall trees ; the young are 

 hatched naked. The largest members belong to the genus Rhamphastos, 

 of which R. toco (1436) is one of the most robust, and the most brilliant 

 are the Ara9aris (Pteroglossus] (1 443-1 449). The members of the genus 

 Selenidera (1450-1451) are remarkable in having the plumage differently 

 coloured in the male and female, and the Green Toucans (Aulaco- 

 rhamphus} (1452-1455) are at once recognisable by their uniform style 

 of plumage, which imitates the colour of the forest-leaves. 



Family II. CAPITONID.E. BARBETS. 



The members of this family are small, rather heavily-built birds, with [Cease 65.J 

 a large stout bill, usually beset with strong black bristles, and generally 

 with brilliantly-coloured plumage. They inhabit the forests and well- 

 timbered districts throughout Tropical Asia, Africa, and America, and 

 are strictly arboreal in their habits, hopping from branch to branch, 

 and sometimes climbing up and down the trunk in search of insects. 

 In their habits they are remarkably inactive, and often sit motionless 

 for hours at a time, uttering their noisy ringing note, which may be 

 heard at intervals throughout the day and on moonlight nights. In 

 some species the sound is singularly metallic, and has gained for them 

 such appropriate names as " Copper-smith " (Xanthol&ma hamate- 



