THE BEAK. 
37 
it down to the ground. It is, however, so remark- 
ably light and hollow as to he no inconvenience 
whatever, so that the bird can fly with such swift- 
ness and certainty as to catch grapes and other fruit 
thrown to it, before they fall to the ground. In its 
operation, too, it differs from those of other birds ; 
seizing and acting upon the substances within its 
grasp, by a lateral or side-way rather than an up 
and down or perpendicular motion. But they do 
not always confine themselves to fruits, their beaks 
being equally calculated by their muscular strength 
for crushing the bones of small birds ; and in their 
native forests they are seen perched on high trees, 
watching the moment at which old birds leave their 
nests, when down they pounce, and feed on the young 
ones, and even contest a prize with the monkies. 
How skilfully, and at the same time how powerfully, 
he can use this apparently awkward and cumbrous 
bill of his, we learn from the way in which a Toucan, 
which was for some years kept in the Museum of 
the Zoological Gardens in London, disposed of a 
small bird. The moment the owner of the Toucan 
introduced his hand with the small bird into the 
cage, the Toucan, which was on its perch, snatched 
it with its bill. The poor little bird was dead in an 
instant, killed by the violence of the squeeze. As 
soon as it was dead, the Toucan hopped with it, still 
in its bill, to another perch, and then placing it with 
his bill between his right foot and the perch, began 
to strip off the feathers. When he had plucked 
away most of them, he broke the bones of the 
wings and legs (still holding the little bird in the 
same position), with his bill, taking the limbs 
