ORNITHOLOGY. 



599 



Sc ansores. are short, and the flight heavy. The species feed on fruits 

 v — ~v— -^and insects, and occasionally attack small birds. They 

 build their nests in hollow trees. Cuvier divides them into 

 three minor groups. The Barbicans of Buffon (Pogonias, 

 Illiger) have one or two strong teeth on each side of the 

 upper bill, of which the ridge is arched and blunt. The 

 barbs are very strong. (Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 3.) The spe- 

 cies occur in Africa and India, and are more frugivorous 

 than their congeners. Example, P. sulciroslris, Leach, 

 Zool. Misc. xi. 76. The Barbus (genus Bucco, as re- 

 stricted) have the bill simply conic, slightly compressed, 

 the culmen blunt, and a little raised about the centre. 

 The species live in pairs during the breeding season, 

 and in small flocks at other times. They occur in both 

 continents, and are adorned with lively colours, — Bucco 

 grandis, viridis, flavifrons, &c. Lastly, the Tamatias, 

 genus Tamatia, Cuv., have the bill more elongated and 

 compressed, with the extremity of the upper mandible 

 curved downwards. Their thick heads, large bills, and 

 short tails, give them a stupid aspect. They inhabit 

 South America, feed on insects, and are of solitary ha- 

 bits. Example, T. melanoleucos, melanotis, &c. They 

 are known by the English name of puff-birds ; and Mr 

 Swainson describes them as sitting for hours together on 

 a dead or withered branch, from which they dart from 

 time to time on such unwary insects as approach within 

 their reach. He adds, that the hermit-birds (genus Mo- 

 nasa), already mentioned, do the same, and frequently 

 rise up perpendicularly into the air, making a swoop, and 

 returning again to their former station. Similar manners 

 belong to the jacamars, though their flight is weaker. 



In the genus Trogon the bill is also bearded, but short, 

 and broader than high, the upper edge rounded. Their 

 little feet are often feathered almost to the toes, and their 

 soft, full, lax plumage, and lengthened tails, bestow upon the 

 species a peculiar aspect. (Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 4.) These 

 birds abound in South America, where they conceal them- 

 selves in the central solitudes of umbrageous forests, and, 

 except during the breeding season, dwell insulated and 

 alone. They will sit motionless for half a summer's day, 

 often upon a withered branch, and if not concealed by some 

 accidental intervening mass of foliage, they fall an easy prey 

 to the keen-eyed hunter, who eagerly searches for birds not 

 less remarkable for the delicacy of their flesh than the beauty 

 of their plumage. During the morning and evening hours, 

 Mr Swainson informs us, they become more active ; ven- 

 turing at these times into the open parts of the forest, 

 and, taking a shady station, dart upon winged insects, 

 particularly beetles. At other times they feed upon fruits, 

 especially the rich purple berriesof the different melastomae, 

 " at which," says Mr Swainson, " they invariably dart, pre- 

 cisely as if they were insects capable of getting away.'' 

 It has been remarked by the woodland hunters, that the 

 skins of these birds are of such delicate texture as to be 

 with difficulty preserved in a natural or complete condi- 

 tion. It is probably for this reason that in museums they 

 exhibit a heavy, shapeless aspect, redeemed, it is true, by 

 the gorgeous colours or metallic splendour of their plu- 

 mage. The most magnificent of the genus is the quezal 

 or golden trogon ( T. pavoninus, Temm.), a rare and re- 

 markable species, of which neither delineation nor descrip- 

 tion can convey an adequate idea. The greater propor- 

 tion of the plumage is apparently composed of burnished 

 gold. The head ornamented by a brilliant crest of de- 

 composed barbs, the wing-coverts falling in flakes of gol- 

 den green over the deep purplish-black of the primary 

 and secondary quill-feathers, the rich carmine of the lower 

 parts bestowing a warmth and depth of effect which no 

 Venetian painter ever equalled, and the long waving and 



highly metallic feathers of the tail-coverts, extending about Scansores. 

 three times the length of the whole body, present a com- ^— — v~~- ' 

 bination of beauty almost unexampled in the feathered 

 tribes. The first specimens seen in this country were 

 brought, we believe, by Mr Schenley from Vera Paez, in 

 central America. They are celebrated in the Mexican 

 mythology, and are much sought after as head-gear by 

 the Peruvian damsels. Trogons, of other kinds, occur also 

 in the Indian islands, and the warmer continental regions 

 of the old world.' 



The genus Crotophaga, Linn., is recognised by its 

 thick, compressed, arched bill, without dentation, elevated, 

 or surmounted by a vertical cutting crest. (Plate CCCXCVI. 

 fig. 5.) The species called anis or keel-birds inhabit South 

 America and the West Indies. They are of a familiar and 

 gentle disposition in confinement, easily tamed, and maybe 

 taught to speak. Their plumage is black, with metallic re- 

 flections. They build in bushes (some say upon the ground), 

 and several pairs will lay and hatch together in the same 

 nest, which is made of size proportioned to the partnership. 

 They feed on insects, keep much upon the ground, where 

 they also attack maize and rice. M. Lesson says that C. 

 major dwells more habitually on large trees, while C minor 

 prefers the savannahs and marshy meadows. Mr Swain- 

 son never saw the common ani perch on any thing higher 

 than a bush. 



The genus Ramphastos, Linn., is distinguished by its 

 enormous bill, which in some instances is almost equal in 

 size to the body. It is, however, extremely light, and 

 cellular within, arched towards the extremity, and irregu- 

 larly toothed along the margins. The tongue is long, nar- 

 row, and barbed on each side, like a feather. These birds, 

 commonly called toucans, inhabit South America, where 

 they live habitually in woods, and prey on fruits, eggs, 

 and new-hatched birds. The species are pretty numerous, 

 and almost all distinguished by brilliant colouring, which 

 however is somewhat too strongly contrasted, and conse- 

 quently deficient in that fine gradation or harmonious 

 blending which beautifies less gorgeous tribes. We have 

 never chanced to see them in the living state, but in mu- 

 seums they present a somewhat awkward aspect, from 

 their disproportioned bills, short feet, and lengthened tails. 

 Their sense of smell is said to be extremely acute, — a fa- 

 culty by some attributed to an extended ramification of 

 nerves within the nasal portion of the bill. The genus is 

 now divided into two : 1st, The toucans proper (genus 

 Ramphastos, Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 6), which have the 

 largest bills, with the ground colour of the plumage usu- 

 ally black, the throat, breast, and rump being more gaily 

 ornamented with white, yellow, and red. 'idly, The ara- 

 caris (genus Pteroglossus, Illiger, Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 

 7), in which the bill is smaller than the head, and the 

 ground colour of the plumage generally green, with red 

 or yellow on the throat and breast. A live specimen 

 of Ramphastos tucanus, of which the manners have been 

 described by Mr Vigors, was extremely fond of fruit, 

 both fresh and dried. These it generally held for a short 

 time in the extremity of the bill, touching them with ap- 

 parent delight with its slender feathered tongue, and then 

 tossing them into its throat by a sudden upward jerk. 

 Its tendency to prey on animals was, however, strongly 

 evinced by the excitement produced by the sight of a liv- 

 ing bird ; and the carnivorous propensities of another in- 

 dividual are curiously related by Mr Broderip. A gold- 

 finch (though, we repeat, we approve not of the fact), in- 

 troduced into the toucan's cage, was seized and com- 

 pressed so suddenly, that the poor little songster had only 

 time to utter a short squeak before it was dead, with its 

 bowels protruding, 'lhe toucan then hopped with it to 



Mr Gould has published a Monograph of the Trogonida, with sumptuous coloured plates. 



