92 
ROOM XIII. serve to point out their nests to the natives, whence their 
Nat, Hist. name * They are furnished with a very hard skin, but 
the bees attack their eyes. 
The family of Barbels (Case 42) have large co¬ 
nical beaks, swollen out at the sides, and surrounded 
at the base by bristles; they live chiefly on fruit, but 
some eat insects, and even attack small birds; some 
species have large teeth on the side of the bill. The 
Curucuis differ only in having shorter beaks, and by 
being covered with very fine, soft feathers; many of 
them are beautifully coloured ; they live chiefly in low 
damp woods, flying in the evening. 
The Toucans (Cases 43 and 44) are known by their 
enormous, light, cellular beaks, which are irregularly 
notched on the edge, and by their peculiar, long, fea¬ 
ther-like tongues; they live on fruit and small birds; 
they are only found in tropical America. 
The family of Hornbills , (same Cases,) which come 
from India and Africa, have the beak large, like the 
Toucans, but they are heavier, and vary greatly in 
shape according to the age of the bird; they feed on 
fruit, mice, small birds and reptiles. 
The Gallinaceous Birds (Cases 45—57) usually 
lay their eggs on the earth ; the males are generally 
polygamous. The Pheasants and Grous, which consti¬ 
tute the first group, have the hind toes placed higher 
on the tarsus than the rest, so that only the tip touches 
the ground; the former have the nostrils covered by a 
naked, horny scale, the legs not feathered, and those of 
the male generally furnished with spurs ; in the latter 
the scale covering the nostrils is always feathered, and 
the legs generally so. In these Cases there is a great 
variety of Birds of this tribe, amongst which may be 
seen, in Case 45, Jungle and Javan Cock, Fire-backed 
Pheasant, and Pencilled Pheasant. In 46 and 47, the 
Peacock, both wild and domesticated. In 48 and 49, va¬ 
rious Pheasants, such as Reeves’s Pheasant, from China; 
Nepaul and Wallick’s Pheasants from Himalaya 
Mountains, 
