130 CASSKLL.S BOOK OF lilUDS. 



hollow tree, and contains two eggs. Towards many birds of prey, especially Owls, the Arassaris 

 exhibit much hostility, and frequently assemble to harry and annoy them as they sit droning away the 

 bright hours of daylight. Tlie tlesh of this species is good food, and they become very fat during the 

 winter. Burmeister, who affirms that the Arassaris do not confine themselves to a fruit diet, but 

 freely eat insects and beetles, describes their appearance and movement among the trees as closely 

 resembling those of a party of Parrots. Bates mentions that on one occasion, when descending a 

 gully, having fired at one of these birds, as it sat apparently alone upon the bouglr of a lofty tree, he 

 was much startled to find his victim's cry of pain answered by the simultaneous appearance of a large 

 number of its terrified coinpanions. In the twinkling of an eye every branch was occupied; and the 

 birds, indignant at being thus roused from their repose, fluttered, shrieked, and flapped their wings 

 like so many furies, in defiance of the unwelcome intruder. All attempts to capture any of the 

 belligerents proved fruitless, for the cries of their dying associate had no sooner ceased than they 

 retired as suddenly as they had appeared, and immediately ensconced themselves in some unseen but 

 safe retreat within their leafy fastnesses. 



The TOUCANS PROPER {Ramphastiis) are at once recognisable by the extraordinary size of 

 their curved beak, which is very thick at its base, compressed at its tip, and furnished with a sharp 

 ridge at its culmen. The high, powerful legs are covered with large flat scales, the tarsi are short, 

 and the toes long ; the small, broad, rounded tail, is composed of feathers of equal length ; the wings 

 are short, and the fourth and fifth quills longer than the rest ; a black gloss predominates in the 

 coloration of the plumage, enlivened by red, white, or yellow patches on the throat, back, and wings. 

 All the various species of these birds live in pairs, within the shade of the forest, only exceptionally 

 congregating into small parties, and never venturing near the abodes of man. 



THE TOCO TOUCAN. 



The Toco Toucan {Ramphastus toed) is principally of a glossy black ; the throat, cheeks, lower 

 throat, and upper tail-covers are white, and the rump light red. The large high beak is bright orange- 

 red, shading to deep red at the culmen and towards the tip of the lower mandible ; while the tip and 

 edges of the upper portion of the bill are black, the eyes, cheek-stripes, and region of the temple 

 bright red ; the eyelids blackish blue, and the legs dark grey. The length of this bird is twenty-two 

 inches ; the wing measures eight inches and three-quarters, and the tail five inches and a quarter. 



The Toco Toucan, as we learn from the Prince von AVied, is never found near the coast, but is 

 plentiful in the interior of the province of Minas Geroes and Bahia. It is abundant in the southern 

 parts of Brazil, in latitude thirty-two degrees south. Those observed in the neighbourhood of 

 Bahia were very shy, the result of their having been repeatedly fired at by the inhabitants in defence 

 of their fruit-trees, and to procure them for food ; notwithstanding which, the desire to feed upon 

 the oranges and guavas induced them to approach very near the town at the season when those 

 fruits were ripening. Very pretty little powder-flasks are made of their large, finely-coloured bills. 

 " M. Natterer," writes Gould, in his magnificent work on the RamphastidcB, " who first met with this 

 bird in the province of St. Paul, and afterwards on the coast of Goyay and Mattogrosso, on the banks 

 of the Amazon and Upper Rio Branco, remarks that " it will probably be found on all parts of Brazil, 

 and believes that the bird prefers woods adjoining sandy plains, for he more than once met with it m 

 low steppes and coppices, where ripe fruits were to be found. We generally met with it in small 

 families, and observed that the bill varied in length according to the age and sex of the bird ; and that 

 its note, resembling ' gr-r-ra,' was deeper than that of any other member of the family." Mr. Edwards 

 tells us that he saw the nest of this species in the fork of a large tree over the water of the Amazon, 



