106 TROPICAL NATURE, AND OTHER ESSAYS. 



tlie most vivid reds, blues, and yellows, in endless com- 

 binations. The African species are usually black or 

 greenish-black, with masses of intense crimson, yellow, 

 or white, mixed in various proportions and patterns ; 

 while the American species combine both styles of 

 colouring, but the tints are usually more delicate, and 

 are often more varied and more harmoniously inter- 

 blended. In the Messrs. Marshall's fine work ^ all the 

 species are described and figured ; and few more in- 

 structive examples can be found than are exhibited in 

 their beautifully-coloured plates, of the endless ways in 

 which the most glaring and inharmonious colours are 

 often combined in natural objects with a generally 

 pleasing result. 



We will next group together three families which, al- 

 though quite distinct, may be said to represent each other 

 in their respective countries, — the toucans of America, the 

 plantain-eaters of Africa, and the hornbills of the East 

 — all being large and remarkable birds which are sure 

 to attract the traveller's attention. The toucans are the 

 most beautiful, on account of their large and richly- 

 coloured bills, their delicate breast-plumage, and the 

 varied bands of colour with which they are often adorned. 

 Though feeding chiefly on fruits, they also devour birds' 

 eggs and young birds ; and they are remarkable for the 

 strange habit of sleeping with the tail laid flat upon 

 their backs, in what seems a most unnatural and in- 

 convenient position. What can be the use of their 

 enormous bills has been a great puzzle to naturalists, 

 the only tolerably satisfactory solution yet arrived at 



^ A Monograph of the Capitonidce or Scansorial Barbets, by C. F. T. 

 Marshall and G. F. L. Marshall. 1871. 



