354 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Toucans and Aracaris. 



ORDER SCANSORES. 



The order Scansores (les Griinpeurs, Cuvier) com 

 prehends, in most systems of arrangement, all those 

 birds which have the toes in pans, two directed 

 forwards, and two backwards, the outermost of the 

 three anterior being altered as to its position, and 

 brought to assist the true hind toe in its action. 

 Consequently the Trogons and the Parrots are usually 

 included in this order, but. we conceive the former, 

 notwithstanding their zygodactyle feet, to belong 

 to the fissi rostral birds, and the latter to compose 

 an order per se. Mr. G. R. Gray, in his 'System 

 of Birds,' regards the order Scansores as consisting 

 of the Toucans, the Parrots, the Woodpeckers, and 

 the Cuckoos ; four families differing essentially from 

 each other in habits and manners. To ourselves 

 it appears that the order is altogether artificial ; it 

 is founded only on one character, irrespective of 

 general form, food, and economy of life- We may 

 add that this character (zygodactyle toes) is fal- 

 lacious, for the foot of the woodpecker is utterly 

 different in its structure both from that of the parrot 

 and of the cuckoo. 



If we compare the order Scansores, as at present 

 established, with the order Natatores (swimming- 

 birds), we shall at once perceive that the latter is 

 natiual, that the groups it contains are bound 

 together by links of affinity more or less immediate ; 

 while in the Scansores we shall find groups that 

 have nothing in common as respects structure and 

 modes of existence, and hence do we feel that their 

 collocation is not truly natural. If the parrots, as 

 is undoubtedly the case, constitute an order per se, 

 on the same grounds do the woodpeckers, and 

 perhaps also the cuckoos. As, however, the settle- 

 ment of questions such as these is not the object of 

 our work, we shall at once proceed to the investi- 

 tion of our pictorial specimens. 



Family RAMPHASTID^ (TOUCANS AND 

 ARACARIS). 



These richly-coloured birds are at once remarkable 

 lor the magnitude and figure of the bill, which was 

 known in Europe before the birds themselves. 

 Belon (a.d. 1555), in the 28th chapter of the third 

 book ' De la nature des Oyseaux vivants le long des 

 rivieres ayant le pied plat, nommez en Latin Pal- 

 mipedes aves,' gives a figure of the bill of the Toco 

 Toucan, which he describes as belonging to a bird 

 of the new world (terres neufues), and as being 

 half a foot in length ; pointed and black at the tip ; 

 white elsewhere ; slightly notched along the edges ; 

 hollow within ; and so finely delicate that it is thin 

 and transparent as parchment ; its beauty, he ob- 

 serves, has caused it to be kept in the cabinets of 

 the curious. He further observes that he has not 

 seen the bird itself, but suspects it to be one of those 

 " de pied plat," and therefore places it among the 

 river-birds. The same writer, in the ' Portraits 

 d'Oyseaux,' again figures the bill as belonging to a 

 water-bird with this description: " Bee d'un oyseau 

 aquatique, apporte des terres neufues." Belon's error 

 may be readily pardoned : such a beak as that of the 

 Toucan, seen for the first time when ornithology was 

 not a science, would puzzle any naturalist. 



For upwards of a century after the date of Belon's 

 works it does not appear that the biros themselves 

 had found their way to England ; the beak, how- 

 ever, of one species was in the collection of John 

 Tradescant, and was described in the ' Museum 

 Tradescantium' as that of the Aracari of Brazil 

 (a.d. 1656), and it is probable that Tradescant had 

 acquired correct information concerning the nature 

 of the bird to which it belonged, if indeed he had 

 not seen a specimen. Petiver (1702) gives a figure 

 of the Toucan, which though rude, as were all the 

 engravings of objects of natural history at that day, 

 is substantially correct, even to the arrangement of 

 the toes. 



Willughby figures the Toucan (Rhamphastos 

 Toco ?) under the name of the Brazilian Pie of 

 Aldrovandus, the Toucan of Marcgrave and others, 

 the Xochitenacatl of the Mexicans. In this figure 

 the toes are. incorrect, owing to a mistake of the 

 artist, for Willughby was evidently aware of their 

 zytrodactvle character. 



The beak of the Toucan (Figs. 1579 and 1580) is, 

 as Belon well observed, of large size, with serrated 

 •nargins, but of light structure, being cancellous 

 within. Its proportionate size to the head may be 

 appreciated by comparing it wPh the beaks of other 

 birds which have this organ well developed, as the 

 rook and crow (Fig. 1581). 



The osseous portions of the mandibles, observes 

 Professor Owen, are disposed in a manner adapted 

 to combine with the great bulk of those parts a due 

 degree of strength, and remarkable lightness; con- 

 sequently the bony structure is of the most beautiful 

 a.id delicate kind. " The external parietes are 

 extremely thin, especially in the upper mandible ; 

 they are elastic, and yield in a slight degree to 

 moderate pressure, but present considerable resist- 



ance if a force is applied for the purpose of crush- 

 ing the back. At the points of the mandibles the 

 outer walls are nearly a line in thickness, at other 

 parts in the upper mandible they are much thinner, 

 varying from one-thirtieth to one-fiftieth of an inch 

 in thickness; in the lower they are from one- 

 twentieth to one-thirtieth of an inch in thickness. 

 On making a longitudinal section of the upper 

 mandible, its base is seen to include a conical cavity 

 about two inches in length and one inch in diameter, 

 with the apex directed forwards. The walls of this 

 cone consist of a most beautiful osseous network 

 intercepting irregular angular spaces, varying in 

 diameter from half a line to two lines. From the 

 parietes of this cone a network of bony fibres is 

 continued to the outward parietes of the mandible, 

 the fibres which immediately support 1he latter 

 being almost invariably implanted at right angles 

 to the part in which they are inserted. The whole 

 of the mandible anterior to the cone is occupied 

 with a similar network, the meshes of which are 

 largest, in the centre of the beak, in consequence of 

 the union which takes place between different 

 small fibres as they pass from the circumference 

 inwards. It is remarkable that the principle of the 

 cylinder is introduced into this elaborate structure ; 

 the smallest of the supporting pillars of the man- 

 dibles are seen to be hollow or tubular when ex- 

 amined with the microscope. The structure is the 

 same in the lower mandible, but the fibres com- 

 posing the network are in general stronger than 

 those of the upper mandible." The nostrils are 

 situated at the base of the upper mandible, where 

 it rises above the level of the skull, and conse- 

 quently they have a backward aspect, and are 

 secured from any injury. The tongue is long, 

 slender, flat, and horny, and furnished on each side 

 with a series of short processes like the barbs of a 

 feather. It. is soft at its base. 



Figure 1582 represents the structure of the head 

 and beak of the Toucan, as investigated by Professor 

 Owen: a, Section of the upper mandible of Ram- 

 phastos Toco, a, The cancellated structure of the 

 beak ; b, the cavity at the base ; c, branches of the 

 fifth pair of nerves ; d d, external orifices of the 

 nostrils ; e, osseous parietes of the nasal passages ; 



f, osseous tubes protecting the olfactory nerves; g, 

 pituitary membrane exposed, and branches of the 

 olfactory nerves radiating from it ; h, superior semi- 

 circular canals of the internal ear; i, i, hemispheres 

 of the cerebrum ; k, the cerebellum, b, Ver- 

 tical longitudinal section of the head. The same 

 letters indicate the same parts as in the upper 

 figure : I, the tongue ; m, the glottis ; n, the in- 

 ternal aperture to the nostrils ; o, the os hyoides ; 

 p, the trachea; g, the oesophagus; r, the beginning 

 of the spinal cord; s, articulating surface of oc- 

 cipital bone; t, the nasal septum or partition; u, 

 the air-cell anterior to the orbit, from which the 

 air passes into the mandible ; v, the cancellated 

 structure of the lower jaw. 



Figure 1583 shows the upper surface of the 

 tongue: I, the fringed or feathered portion ; m, the 

 orifice of the larynx : n, the orifice of the pharynx ; 

 o, cornua of os hyoides ; p, trachea or windpipe ; 



g, gullet. (Owen.; 



Fig. 1584 conveys a clear idea of the zygodacfylous 

 arrangement of the toes in the birds of the present 

 family. 



Those who wish to enter minutely into the 

 anatomy of the Toucan, we refer to Professor Owen's 

 elaborate paper, in Mr. Gould's ' Rhamphastidse.' 



The Rainphastidae are all natives of tropical 

 America, where they live retired in the deep forests, 

 mostly in small companies; their flight is straight 

 but laborious, and while on the wing the beak is 

 raised and directed forwards so as to offer as little 

 resistance as possible to the air. zlmong the branches 

 of the trees their movements are easy and active, 

 they appear to glide from branch to branch, and in 

 this manner ascend to the very summits. DAzara 

 states that the toucans are to a certain extent 

 omnivorous, living a great part of the year on fruits, 

 but during the breeding season attacking the smaller 

 birds in their nests, and devouring their eggs or 

 their young. Even the eggs and young of the ma- 

 caws and other large birds often fall victims to their 

 carnivorous propensities. 



Mr. Swainson, who had seen the toucans in their 

 native forests, was led to suspect the same fact, and 

 informed Mr. Broderip that he had frequently ob- 

 served them perched on the tops of lofty trees, evi- 

 dently watching the departure of birds from their 

 nests, besides which, the remains of food found in 

 the stomachs of such as were shot proved that eggs 

 and young birds, as well as fruit, constituted their 

 diet. He never, however, observed them in the act 

 of destruction. 



Dr. Such stated that he had seen these birds in 

 Brazil feeding on the toucan-berry, and had fre- 

 quently observed them engaged in quarrels with the 

 monkeys, and that he was certain that the toucans 

 fed also on eggs and nestlings. Mr. Gould in his 



' Monograph of the Ramphastidae,* divides them into 

 two great sections: 1. Ramphastos, with the bill 

 smooth, the nostrils concealed and placed at the 

 edge of the thickened frontlet of the bill ; the wings 

 short and rounded; the tail square; the general 

 ground-colour black, the throat, chest, and tail- 

 coverts being of a lively or brilliant hue— red or 

 yellow. (See 1579 and 1580, Head of Toucan.) 

 2. Pteroglossus (Aracaris), with the bill more con- 

 tracted in its dimensions, more solid, with the 

 edges more decidedly serrated, the nostrils vertical, 

 naked, and round upon the upper edge of the front- 

 let of the beak ; the tail long and graduated ; the 

 predominent colour olive-green, varied with red, 

 yellow, &c. In both groups the skin round the' 

 eyes is naked and richly tinted. (See 1593, Head 

 of Aracari,) 



1585. — A Group or Ramphastid/e. 



a, The Aracari (Pteroglossus Aracari) ; b, the 

 Red-billed Toucan (Ramphastos erythrorhynchus) 

 c, the Toco Toucan (R. Toco); d, the Black and 

 Yellow Toucan (R. discolorus). 



We may here appropriately introduce the descrip- 

 tion by Mr. Broderip of the habits and manners of a 

 toucan in captivity ; the species was the R. erythro- 

 rhynchus : — 



On the 23rd of November, 1824, the late Mr. 

 Vigors had spoken at the Zoological Club of a living 

 toucan, which was then exhibited in St. Martin's 

 Lane. Mr. Vigors stated that the bird had been fed 

 on a vegetable diet ; but that the proprietor had 

 told him that on the occasion of a young Canary- 

 bird having escaped and gone near to the toucan, 

 the latter appeared more than usually excited, that 

 thereupon the barrier between them was removed, 

 and that the toucan instantly seized and devoured 

 the Canary-bird. On the next day Mr. Broderip 

 went to the place where the toucan was exhibited, 

 and thus describes wiiat he saw.— "After looking at 

 the bird which was the object of my visit, and winch 

 was apparently in the highest state of health, I asked 

 the proprietor to bring up a little bird, that I might 

 see how the toucan would be affected by its appear- 

 ance. He soon returned, bringing with him a gold- 

 finch, a last year's bird. The instant he introduced 

 his hand with the goldfinch into the cage of the 

 toucan, the latter, which was on a perch, snatched 

 it with his bill. The poor little bird had only time 

 to utter a short weak cry ; for within a second it 

 was dead, killed by compression on the sternum and 

 abdomen, and that so powerful that the bowels were 

 protruded after a very few squeezes of the toucan's 

 bill. As soon as the goldfinch was dead, the toucan 

 hopped with it, still in his bill, to another perch, 

 and placing it with his bill between his right foot 

 and the perch, began to strip off the feathers with 

 his bill. When he had plucked away most of them, 

 he broke the bones of the wings and legs (still hold- 

 ing the little bird in the same position) with his 

 bill, taking the limbs therein, and giving at the 

 same time a strong lateral wrench. He continued 

 this work with great dexterity till he had almost re- 

 duced the. bird to a shapeless mass ; and ever and 

 anon he would take his prey from the perch in his 

 bill, and hop from perch to perch, making at the 

 same time a peculiar hollow clattering noise ; at which 

 times 1 observed that his bill and wings werp 

 affected with a vibratory or shivering motion, though 

 the latter were not. expanded. He would then re- 

 turn the bird to the perch with his bill, and set his 

 foot on it. He first ate the viscera, and continued 

 pulling off and swallowing piece after piece, till the 

 head, neck, and part of the back of the sternum, 

 with their soft parts, were alone left : these, after a 

 little more wrenching, while they were held on the 

 perch, and mastication, as it were, while they were 

 held in the bill, he at last swallowed, not even leav- 

 ing the beak or legs of his prey. The last part 

 gave him the most trouble ; but it was clear that he 

 felt great enjoyment; for whenever he raised his 

 prey from the perch he appeared to exult, now mas- 

 ticating the morsel with his toothed bill and apply, 

 ing his tongue to it, now attempting to gorge it, 

 and no w making the peculiar clattering noise ac' 

 companied by the shivering motion above mentioned 

 The whole operation from the time of seizing his 

 prey to that, of devouring the last morsel lasted 

 about a quarter of an hour. He then cleansed his 

 bill from the leathers by rubbing it against the 

 perches and bars of his cage. While on this part 

 of the subject it may be as well to mention another 

 fact, which appears to me not unworthy of notice. 

 I have more than once seen him return his food 

 some time after he had taken it to his crop, and, 

 after masticating the morsel for awhile in his bill, 

 again swallow it; the whole operation, particularly 

 the return of the food to the bill, bearing a strong 

 resemblance, to the analogous action in ruminating 

 animals. The food on which I saw hie so em- 

 ployed was a piece of beef, which had evidently 

 been macerated some time in the crop. While 

 masticating it, he made the same hollow clattering 



