SCANSORES. 



217 



Ijy a sharp vertical crest [lilic that of several of the smaller Ilornhills]. They arc hircls of the hot and 

 humid climates of America, with stout and elevated tarsi, a long and rounded tail [composed of only 

 eight feathers], and blark plmnage. They sulisist on insects and grain, fly in flochs, and several pairs 

 lav and iiicuhate ia the same nest, which is jilaced on the brandies of trees, and is built of a 

 size proportionate to the number of coui)les whieh helj) to construct it. They are easily tamed, and 

 even taught to speak ; but their flesh is rank and disagreeable. 



[The similarity of ttie colom- and size of these birds to the Quisadi and ScolrjiJiar/i, {p. 20'2), ^vliich inhabit the 

 same countries, has occasioned much confusion in their history. It is the latter, and not the Ani, ■which are 

 ,[>Tanivorous ; and which also are easily tamed and taught to speak, the xVni having no accessory vocal muscles, 

 and consequently only uttering a particular screech. The name Crofophnija implies that tliey feed on the insect 

 parasites of cattle, like the common Starling; wliich is not true of the Ani, though it applies to the hii-ils 

 with which they have been confounded. The Ani strictly appertain to the Cuckoo p^roup, and are remarkable fur 

 possessing eyelashes like the Coucals and Honibills : though inhabitants of the hottest regions of America, they 

 are remarkably solicitous for warmth, and soon perish of the least cliill ; hence their sin^i^ular sociality even wliile 

 brooding on their eggs, which are of a dark green colour. Several species ai-e now known, and they appear to 

 subsist exclusively on insects.] 



The Toucans {^Rhamphasios, Lin.) — 

 Are at once recognized by the enormous size of the bill, which is nearly as large and as long as the 

 body itself, but internally very light and cellular, [or rather permeated by a fragdc network of osseuus 

 hhrcs], having its edges dentated, and both mandiljles arched towards the tip; the tongue is narrow 

 and elongated, and laterally barbed like a feather. They are peculiar to the warm regions of America, 

 where they live iu small troops, [different species of them commonly associating in the same flock], 

 and suljsist on fruit and insects, and during the nesting season on the eggs and young of other birds. 

 The structure of the bill necessitates them to throw each morsel of food into the air. and catch it in 

 the throat ; [a habit practised liy many other birds in which tlie tongue is either unusually short, or 

 of a form unfit to assist in deglutition]. Their feet are short [not particularly so] ; their wings but 

 moderate, and tail rather lengthened, [and commoidy held erect ; it consists of ten feathers]. Tliey 

 nestle in the trunks of trees [producing, in every known instance, two delicately white eggs, of a 

 rotund form : the young recurve their tails upon the back while in the nc&t. 



These birds have a doubly emarginated ster- 

 num of peculiar form {f[g. 103), a slightly muscu- 

 lar stomach, and short intestines without cceca : 

 they have no g-all-bladder. Their movements are 

 ]i;;ht and elegant in an exti'eme degree, leaping 

 from bough to bough with the most lightsome 

 agihty, so that, in the living bird, the beak has 

 no appearance whatever of being disproportion- 

 ately large. They fly rapidly, but evidently with 

 much exertion, and with difficulty against the 

 wind, raising the bill above the axis of the body, 

 and propelling themselves at short intervals : 

 are exceedingly destructive to the eggs and young 

 of other birds, which they frequently obtain by 

 dipping tlieir Inige bill into the deep pensile nests 

 which abound in their indigenous abode, that 

 organ being remarkably sensitive, which enables 

 them to feel the contents. When roosting at 

 night, they contrive to bury their enormous beak 

 completely between the scapularj^ and intersca- 

 pulary feathers; and they employ it with singular 

 dexterity, and are often observed to scratch it 

 s:ently with the foot, as if that produced an ag-reeable sensation : many nervous papilla; are distributed over its 



surface]. 



The Restricted Toucans — 



Have ihe beak thicker than the liead, and are generally black, \\ith vivid colours on the throat, breast, 



and croup. [Their size is comparatively large, both sexes are alike in plumage, the tail is less 



cuneated, the clavicle bones are separate, short, and pointed, not joined to constitute afurcula. as in 



birds in general.] 



The aricauis {Pteroghssus^ Illiger) — 



Have the beak not so thick as the head, and enveloped with a less attenuated corneous covering; their 



Fie- 103.— Sternum of Aricari. 



