THE LIVING WORLD. 
303 
do not accord with this apparent provision, since it is a grain-feeder. The use of 
the tongue has therefore not yet been fully determined. The general color is 
black, with a raven gloss, and sometimes of a very light color, due to the accu¬ 
mulation of dandruff, or quill powder upon the feathers. 
TOUCANS AND HORNBILLS. 
Of the many singular forms and characteristics displayed by nature, 
perhaps none are more curious than the features observable in the birds 
classed under the general head of ramphastidce (large billed). They are dis¬ 
tinguished by what appear to be pre- 
ternaturally large beaks, equal in 
length to one-half the body, and of 
immense circumferential proportions. 
Some have not only enormous beaks, 
but to these colossal frontispieces are 
added a helmet of horn overweighting 
the head to such an extent as would 
appear to constantly hold the head 
downward. But nature does not make 
her creations with amateur hands, for 
though she produces many queer ap¬ 
pearing and apparently redundant 
things, it is always with marvellous 
■design and wondrous adaptation. Dis¬ 
proportionately large as are the bills of 
the toucan family, they give no incon¬ 
venience, for they are marvels of light¬ 
ness, rivalling the pearly nautilus in 
■delicacy of structure, and serve no less 
admirable uses. 
The Red-billed Toucan ( Ram- 
phastus tucanus\ like all its congeners, 
is a habitant of South America, and 
grows to a considerable size, equal 
perhaps to a crow. There are some 
fifty species, but there is great resem¬ 
blance between the varieties in size, 
appearance and habits, so that a 
general description will answer for sulphur-crested cockatoo. 
them all. The red-billed toucan , and 
the great toucan (R. tuco) are the largest and differ only in the color of the 
bill, one being red and the other orange. They build their nests in the hollow 
of some dead limb, scooped out by a laborious process, and, like the parrots, 
only lay two eggs. The young have the bill well developed as soon as they 
appear, but are nourished by the parents a considerable while longer than are 
the young of most birds. 
The flight of the toucan is very slow and ungraceful, and on the ground 
its movements may be described as “ straddle-legged,” moving by hops, with the 
legs spread far apart, giving it a most awkward appearance. The cry is quite 
