52 
The toucans are found only in tropical America, and will 
be readily recognized by the size and brilliant coloring of 
their bills,—large and unwieldy-as these seem to be, they are 
in reality very light, being entirely filled with a honey-comb 
of air-cells. The plumage is richly colored, and has a pe¬ 
culiar satin-like softness of texture. The toucans are in a 
measure carnivorous, and often prey upon smaller birds. 
“ Common as these birds are in their native wilds, it is exceedingly dif¬ 
ficult to detect their breeding-places; it is certain that they deposit their 
eggs in the hollow limbs and holes of the colossal trees so abundant in 
the tropical forests, but I was never so fortunate as to discover them. 
* * * In their manners, the Rhamphastidce offer some resemblance to 
the Corvida and especially to the magpies; like them they are very trou¬ 
blesome to the birds of prey, particularly to the owls, which they surround 
and annoy by making a great noise, all the while jerking their tails up¬ 
wards and downwards. The flight of these birds is easy and graceful, 
and they sweep with ease over the loftiest trees of their native forest.” 
(Prince Maximilian of Wied.) 
There are a number of species, beautifully illustrated by 
Mr. Gould, in a 4 ‘Monograph of the Rhamphastidse .* 1 
The Psittaci , comprising the macaws, parrots, parrakeets, 
and cockatoos, is a large and varied order, numbering some 
five hundred species, which are found throughout tropical 
America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Among them are some 
of the most splendid specimens of their class; many of them 
learn to talk and imitate various sounds with facility, and 
they are much kept as pets. 
Among the largest and most gorgeously colored of the 
group are the macaws. These superb birds live in large 
flocks in the forests of Central and South America, where 
their brilliant colors vie in intensity with the tropical veg¬ 
etation which surrounds them. 
There are a number of species, of which the best known are 
the Red and Blue Macaw ( Ara macao ), the Red and Green 
Macaw (A. chloroptera ), the Blue and Yellow Macaw ( A . 
ararauna ), Illiger’s Macaw ( A . maracana ), the Brown- 
fronted Macaw (A. severa), the Military Macaw ( A . 
militaris ), and the Glaucous Macaw (A. glauca). 
A bird of rather strange appearance is the Greater Vasa 
Parrot ( Coracopsis vasa ) of Madagascar. 
The Gray Parrot ( Psittacus erythacus ) and the Timneh 
Parrot ( P . timneh ), from West Africa, furnish many of the 
best talkers of the family. 
