LECTURE V. 173 



hy their own elasticity. The tongue in the Tou- 

 cans so much resembles a long slender feather, 

 that the first describers considered it as really 

 such : it is of a horny substance, and divided 

 at the edges into innumerable notches or barbs. 

 The Toucans are all natives of South America, 

 and feed on the softer kind of fruits. One of 

 the most remarkable species is the Toco, the Ram- 

 phastos Toco of Linnaeus, a bird about the size 

 of a Pigeon, black above and white beneath ; 

 with a bill measuring more than seven inches 

 in length, and of a reddish-yellow colour with 

 a black tip. 



The Toucans are not very numerous, and 

 are in general of very gay colours ; the under 

 parts being commonly either red or bright yel- 

 low, or varied with both these colours ; while 

 the prevailing colour of the upper parts is a 

 greenish black. The bills are, in some species, not 

 less brilliant, being richly marked and shaded 

 with red, green, or yellow, generally in the form 

 of long and broad stripes or bands on each 

 side. 



The genus PsittaCus or Parrot needs very 

 little description, since every one knows the usual 



