TOUCAN, 3*7 



Ramphaftos pifcivorus *, Lin. Syjl. i. p. 151. N° 4. 4. 



Le Toucan a gorge blanche du Brefil, Bri/. iv. p. 413. N° 3. BRAZILIAN 



— — de Cayenne, appellee Tocan, Pi. enl. 262° 



Xochitenacatl tertia, Rait Syn. p. 178. M° 6. 



Toucan, or Brafilian Pie, Ed<w. pi. 64. 



■ — — Bancroft Guiana, p. 163. 



'TpHIS is twenty-one inches in length, of which the bill mea- Description. 



fures fix inches, and is two inches thick at the bafe. The 

 upper mandible is of a pale yellow green, with ferrated edges, 

 along which it is orange ; the under mandible fine blue; the 

 points of both fine icarlet : the irides hazel, furrounded with a 

 bare greenifh yellow fkin : the upper part of the head, neck, back,. 

 wings, and tail, are black, as is the belly : fides of the head, 

 throat, and breaft, cream-colour ; between this and the black of 

 the belly is a crefcent of fine red : the upper tail coverts are 

 white j the under pale red : the legs are light blue. This is 

 Edwards's defcription, who faw it alive at Mr. Concanncm's ; and 

 remarks, that after death the bill faded much, and the fpace 

 round the eyes turned black. It was fuppofed to come from the 

 Spanijh Main- 

 Bancroft fays, that the bafe of the upper mandible is yellow, 



* Fijb-eating Toucan. Linnaus no doubt gave it this name from the autho- 

 rity of old authors, and might have thought himfelf juilified fo to do, when he 

 had feen one of the fpecics feed on fi(h in a cage. But the fwallowing of filh in 

 a ftate of confinement, fhould be no proof of this bird's doing fo when at large, 

 any more than in Parrots, who will eat both flejh and fijh when kept tame. In- 

 deed, there is one circumftance which may give rife to the conje&ure, which is,, 

 that Toucans are frequently met with near water ; but it is fat fruits growing in 

 fuch places, and nor, ihefjh, which entice them. 



* that 



