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Toucans and Toucanettes. 
the eye over the ear-coverts ; abdomen greenish : flanks orange : 
thighs brown ; under tail-coverts scarlet ; bill greenish yellow 
with bimd bends and transverse blotches on ujjper mandible, rrom 
which the bird gets its name. 
The female is a shade smaller and chestnut instead of 
black, on the head, neck, and breast, and the streak on the 
ear coverts is green. 
This species hails from South Eastern Brazil and, like 
all the Toucans, shews to the greatest advantage on the perch. 
At the same time I must add that the Toucanette can hop 
quickly enough on the ground when it espies something " cv;tra 
special " in the way of food. 
A pair of these birds nested at the Regent's Park Zoo 
some time ago, as recorded in " Bird Notes at the time, a 
fact which shews they thrive in captivity. This species 
was the first member of the Toucan family that I possessed, 
and I found it the tamest of the three varieties that have 
occupied my aviaries up to the present. She (it was a 
solitary female) arrived one June morning and quite uncon- 
cernedly made herself at home in her new sphere at once. 
1 had always understood that Toucans were omnivorous, but 
mine have not proved so by any means. Fruit is the staple 
article of uiet, bananas, gooseberries, and cherries being 
greatly appreciated. The cherries should have the stone re- 
moved before giving to the bird. Each morning, as I ap- 
proached the aviary, Miss Toucanette grew very excited. 
Hying from perch to perch, and would place her head on one 
side, looking at me with bright, expectant eyes as much as to 
say "Now, then, hurry up with those berries! " The moment 
I entered her abode she would liy down and quietly remove 
the fruil from my hand. Another game which gave her much 
pleasure, was for me to place some stoned cherries in my 
pocket, and stroll casually about the aviary. It was not long 
before that big beak was in my jjocket and a cherry had dis- 
appeared. Cherries and gooseberries were always swallowed 
whole, and with a curious jerk back of the head as if tossing 
the morsel down the throat. In addition to fruit, bread and 
milk was partaken of freely. This diet was evidently bene- 
ficial as the bird lived entirely on it, and was kept in an 
unheated outdoor aviary from June until October. I sometimes 
