Toucans 583 



THE TOUCANS 



(Family Rhamphastidce) 



It must have become manifest to the reader that the bills of birds are variously 

 modified to adapt them to their several modes of life, some for cutting and tear- 

 ing flesh, others for drilling in wood, probing in mud, etc. ; but of all these modi- 

 fications the bills of the Toucans are, with the possible exception of those of the 

 Hornbills, the most remarkable, although, it must be confessed, the utility of 

 these enormously developed bills in Toucans is not very clear. As Stejneger 

 says: "The first thing which strikes the observer, when looking at one of the 

 large Toucans, is the enormous size of the bill. It is not only as long as the bird 

 itself, but it does not lack much in equaling the body in bulk; and the observer 

 will most likely make the remark that such an enormous bill must be very heavy. 

 The fact is, however, that the bill is extremely light in comparison with its size, 

 being very thin and filled with a light, cellular bony tissue." The outer wall 

 of the bill is said by Owen to be in most parts only one fiftieth to one thirtieth 

 of an inch in thickness. The tongue is also curiously modified, consisting of 

 a narrow, flat plate with the margins notched, the notches becoming deeper 

 toward the apex; it is from four to six inches in length. 



The Toucans are confined to the New World and are distributed more or 

 less abundantly over the wooded districts from southern Mexico to northern 

 Argentina. They do not occur even in the Antilles, on the western slope of 

 South America south of the Gulf of Guyaquil, or in any part of the Patagonian 

 region. The species are most numerous in the great forest region of Amazonia, 

 and they are disposed by Sharpe in his Hand-list of Birds among five genera 

 and sixty- three species. 



In plumage many of them are very brilliant, their black or green bodies being 

 ornamented with red, orange, white, and blue. The bills and other exposed 

 parts of the body are also usually highly colored, and altogether the Toucans 

 are a remarkable and interesting group of birds. 



The Toucans are described as being rather noisy, flying easily and grace- 

 fully through the forests, in their habits somewhat resembling Crows and Magpies, 

 and like these birds delighting to worry Owls and other birds of prey. They 

 gather around and make a great outcry, but rarely venture an open attack. 

 Their notes are said to be very unmelodious, the call of one species resembling 

 the word tucano, whence the name Toucan. Others make a peculiar rasping 

 noise. 



In a wild state their food consists largely of fruit, but in captivity they will 

 eat most anything, and as they are readily tamed are often seen as pets. It has 

 been asserted that in eating the Toucans toss their food up in the air, catching 

 it as it falls, but it appears that they simply hold up the bill and allow the food 

 to fall down the throat. 



One marked peculiarity of the Toucans is their habit of jerking the tail and 

 turning it upon the back. They are said to sleep with the tail thus thrown up 



