510 HOW THE TOUCAN SLEEPS. 



it was dead ; killed by compression on the sternum and abdomen, and that so powerful, 

 that the bowels were protruded after a very few squeezes of the Toucan's bill. 



As soon as the goldfinch was dead, the Toucan hopped with it still in his bill to 

 another perch, and placing it with his bill between his right foot and the perch, began to 

 strip off the feathers with his bill. When he had plucked away most of them, he broke 

 the bones of the wings and legs (still holding the little bird in the same position) with 

 his bill, taking the limbs therein, and giving at the same time a strong lateral wrench. 

 He continued this work with great dexterity till he had almost reduced the bird to a 

 shapeless mass ; and ever and anon he would take his prey from the perch in his 

 bill, and hop from perch to perch, making at the same time a peculiar hollow clattering 

 noise ; at which times I observed that his bill and wings were affected with a vibratory or 

 shivering motion, though the latter were not expanded. 



He would then return the bird to the perch with his bill, and set his foot on it ; he first 

 ate the viscera, and continued pulHng off and swallowing piece after piece, till the head, 

 neck, and part of the sternum, with their soft parts, were alone left. These, after a little 

 more wrenching while they were held on the perch, and mastication, as it were, while 

 they were held in the bill, he at last swallowed, not even leaving the beak or legs of his 

 prey. The last part gave him most trouble ; but it was clear that he felt great enjoyment, 

 for whenever he raised his prey from the perch he appeared to exult, now masticating the 

 morsel with his toothed bill, and applying his tongue to it, now attempting to gorge it, 

 and now making the peculiar clattering noise, accompanied by the shivering motion 

 above mentioned. The whole operation, from the time of seizing his prey to that of 

 devouring the last morsel, lasted about a quarter of an hour ; he then cleansed his bill 

 from the feathers, by rubbing it against the perches and bars of his cage. 



While on this part of the subject, it may be as well to mention another fact which 

 appears to me not unworthy of notice. I have more than once seen him return his food 

 some time after he had taken it into his crop, and after masticating the morsel for awhile 

 in his bill, again swallow it ; the whole operation, particularly the return of the food to the 

 bill, bearing a strong resemblance to the analogous action in ruminating animals. The 

 food on which I saw him so employed was a piece of beef, which had evidently been 

 macerated some time in his crop. While masticating it, he made the same hollow 

 clattering noise as he made over the remains of the goldfinch. 



Previous to this operation he had examined his feeding trough, in which there was 

 nothing but bread, which I saw him take up and reject, and it appeared to me that he was 

 thus reduced from necessity to the above mode of solacing his palate with animal food. 

 His food consists of bread, boiled vegetables, eggs, and flesh, to which a little bird is now 

 added about every second or third day. He shows a decided preference for animal food, 

 picking out all morsels of that description, and not resorting to the vegetable diet till all 

 the former is exhausted." 



When settling itself to sleep, the Toucan packs itself wp in a very systematic manner, 

 supporting its huge beak by resting it on its back, and tucking it completely among the 

 feathers, while it doubles its tail across its back, just as if it moved on a spring hinge. 

 So completely is the bill hidden among the feathers, that hardly a trace of it is visible in 

 spite of its great size and bright colour, and the bird when sleeping looks like a great ball 

 of loose feathers. 



In the Toco Toucan the beak is of enormous size, being eight inches and a half long, 

 forming rather more than one third of the entire length. Its colour is rich glowing 

 orange, with a large oval patch near the tip, and a black line round the base. There are 

 also a number of darker red bars upon the sides. The head and body are deep black, and 

 the throat and cheeks are white, changing into brimstone-yellow on the breast, edged with 

 a liiie of blood red. The upper tail-coverts are greyish white, and the under tail-coverts 

 deep crimson. Around the eye is a large orange circle, within which is a second circle of 

 cobalt-blue. The eye is rather curious, a green ring encircling the pupil, and a narrow 

 yellow ring encircling the greeru 



