646 



THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



wide range of many families of birds, each zone has at the same time its peculiar orni- 

 thological features, that blend harmoniously with the surrounding world of plants and 

 animals, and, taking a prominent part in the aspect of nature, at once attract the atten- 

 tion of the stranger. In this respect, as in so many others, tl|e warmer regions of the 

 globe have a great advantage over those of the temperate and glacial zones ; and here, 

 where warmth and moisture call forth an exuberant vegetation, they produce an equal 

 multiplicity of animal forms, among which many birds rival the most gorgeous flowers 

 by the splendor of their plumage. 



On turning to each continent in particular, we again find each endowed with its 

 peculiar genera of birds, and thus, though tropical America has many of its feathered 

 tribes in common with the torrid zone of the Old World, it enjoys the exclusive pos- 

 session of the Toucans, Colibris, Crotophagi, Jacamars, Anis, Dendrocolaptes, Mana- 

 kins, and Tangaras ; while the Calaos, the Souimangas, the Birds of Paradise, and 

 many others, are confined to the eastern hemisphere. A complete review of all these 

 various forms of the feathered creation would fill volumes. My narrow limits neces- 

 sarily confine me to a brief account of those tribes which are either the most remark- 

 able, or the most widely different from the birds which we are accustomed to see in the 

 temperate zones. 



By their enormous bill, which might seem rather adapted to a bird of ostrich-like 

 dimensions than to one not much larger than a crow, the toucans are distinguished 

 from all the other feathered races of America. The use of this enormous beak puzzles 

 naturalists. " How astonishing are the freaks of nature," writes Sydney Smith. " To 

 what purpose, we say, is a bird placed in the woods of Cayenne, with a bill a yard long, 

 making a noise like a puppy-dog, and laying eggs in hollow trees ? The toucan, to be 

 sure, might retort, ' To what purpose are certain foolish, prating members of Parliament 

 created, pestering the House with their ignorance and folly, and impeding the business 

 of the country ? ' There is no end to such questions ; so we will not enter into the 

 metaphysics of the toucan." The bill, though certainly much less than a yard long, 

 is big enough to give the bird a very awkward appearance ; but the beauty of its col- 

 oring soon reconciles the eye to its disproportionate size : for the brightest red, varie- 

 gated with black and yellow stripes on the upper mandible, and a stripe of the liveliest 

 sky-blue on the lower, contribute to adorn the bill of the Bouradi, as one of the three 

 toucan species of Guiana is called by the Indians. Unfortunately, these brilliant 

 tints fade after death. The plumage of this strange bird rivals the beak in beauty of 

 coloring, and the feathers are frequently used as ornaments by the Brazilian ladies, as 

 well as by the Indian tribes that roam through the vast forests of South America. The 

 toucans are generally seen in small flocks or troops, and from this it might be supposed 

 they were gregarious ; " but upon a closer examination," says Waterton, " you will find 

 it has only been a dinner-party which breaks up and disperses towards roosting-time." 

 While thus assembled, discord never ceases to reign, for there is hardly a more quarrel- 

 some and imperious bird than the toucan. A bird with so strange a beak must natu- 

 rally be expected to feed and drink in a strange manner. When the toucan has seized 

 a morsel, he throws it into the air and lets it fall into his throat ; when drinking, he 

 dips the point of his mandibles into the water, fills them by a powerful inspiration, and 

 then throws back the head by starts. The tongue is also of a very singular form, 

 being narrow and elongated, an^ laterally barbed like a feather. The toucans are very 



