many of the works more recently published. The species observed by me during my travels in Brazil, which
extended from the 13th to the 23rd degrees of south latitude, or from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, were
Ramphastos Toco, R. Ariel, Pteroglossus Wiedi, and P t. maculirostris
Mr. Waterton remarks, that “ While the Cotingas attract your attention by their superior plumage, the
singular form of the Toucan makes a lasting impression on your memory.
“ There are three species of Toucans in Demerara, and three diminutives which may be called
Toucanets. The largest of the former frequents the Mangrove-trees on the sea coast. It is never seen in
the interior till you reach Machauchia, where it is found in the neighbourhood of the river Tacatoa; the
other two species are very common. They feed entirely on the fruits of the forest, and though of the Pie
kind, never kill the young of other birds or touch carrion.
“ The larger is called Bouradi by the Indians (which means nose), the other Scirou. They seem
partial to each other’s company, and often resort to the same feeding-tree, and retire to the same shady
noon-day retreat. They are very noisy in rainy weather at all hours of the day, and in fair weather at
morn and eve. The sound the Bouradi makes is like the clear yelping of a puppy dog, and you fancy he
says 1 Pia-po-o-co,’ and thus the South American Spaniards call him Piapoco. All the Toucanets feed on the
same trees on which the Touean feeds, and every species of this family of enormous bill lays its eggs in
the hollow trees. They are social but not gregarious. You may sometimes see eight or ten in company, and
from this you may suppose they are gregarious, but upon a closer examination you find it is only a dinner
party which breaks up and disperses towards roosting time. You will be at a loss to conjecture for what
end nature has overloaded the head of this bird with such an enormous bill; it cannot be for the offensive,
as it has no need to wage war with any of the tribes of animated nature, for its food is fruits and seed, and
those are in superabundance throughout the whole year in the regions where the Toucan is found. It
cannot be for the defensive, as the Toucan is preyed upon by no bird in South America, and were it
obliged to be at war; the texture of the bill is ill-adapted to give or receive blows, as you will see by
dissecting it.
“ The flight of the Toucan is by je rk s ; in the action of flying it seems incommoded by this huge
disproportionate feature, and the head 6eems as if bowed down to the earth by it against its will. If .the
extraordinary size and form of the bill expose the Toucan to ridicule, its colours make it amends. Were a
specimen of each species of Toucan presented to'you, you would pronounce the hill of the Bouradi the
most rich and beautiful one. It is worthy of remark, that all these brilliant colours of the bill are to be
found in the plumage of the body and the bare skin round the eye.”
I now give the account published by Azara, a man of great acumen and research, who studied closely
the animals of South America, and whose works will always be held valuable.
“ It is my intention to classify the Tucans, ‘ so called by the Guaranis,’ amongst the diurnal birds of
prey, although nature seems to have united in them a character and figure altogether opposed to a cruel
and sanguinary appetite. They are nearly always gregarious, siuce it is usual to meet them in a family
party or congregated in little troops.
“ They have very short wings and a misshapen beak, incapable of the operations of bending, sawing
or grinding. The legs cannot be advanced alternately, but only by forced jumps. The two hind-claws are
quite useless for seizure, attack or defence.
“ The Toucans, contrary to all appearances, destroy a great number of birds, and on accouut of their
large and strong beak are respected and feared by all species. They attack and drive them from their
nests, and in their very presence eat their eggs and young; these they draw from the holes with the long
beak, or throw down nest and all together.
“ It is credibly reported that the Toucans do not even respect the eggs or young of the ‘ Aras ’ and
‘ Caracaras;’ and if the fledglings are too large or too strong to be lifted from the nest, they dash them
to the ground, as if it were their nature not only to devour but to uselessly destroy.
“ The solid nest of the White Ant, that resists the action of the weather ánd other destructive
causes, is not proof against the Toucan’s attack, for he waits until the clay of which the nest is formed is
moistened by the rain, and then breaks it up with his beak so as to obtain the eggs and young ants; in fact
during the breeding season the Toucan feeds upon nothing else; the rest of the year is for him a long
fast, so strict, that he can only get fruits with sometimes a few insects and buds of trees, nor does he
continue to annoy other birds. It is my opinion that the Toucans are unable to catch adult birds; but
supposing they were, their stomach would not be capable of digesting the feathers and bones, nor their
bill of plucking and disjointing. But in order not to deviate in any respect from the truth, I confess that I
I am not sure that the small species of Toucans do not break the nests and devour the young ones, because,
being more rare than the others in Paraguay, I have not been able to verify the fact, although I do not
doubt i t ; for having the same form and the same manner of living, they must have the same habits.
“ In the first two species the bill is out of all proportion. The bird in flying presents the point of it
to the wind, so that it does not offer more resistance than that of other birds in which the head and
superficies are equal in extent; besides which, the conformation and specific lightness of this long beak
cannot impede flight, because the highest points of the bird being the bill itself and the anterior portion
of the body, they form no obstacle, the wind first taking effect upon the point of the bill: when in a state
of repose, the Toucan carries its bill rather more elevated than a horizontal line that would pass through
the eyes, and when closely looked at it appears like a false bill, because its base exceeds the breadth
of the head, which presents the appearance of being enclosed in a case.
“ In addition to these singularities, the nostrils are placed behind the aforesaid base.
“ The tongue is very narrow and of an equal thickness throughout; it is entirely osseous, and
resembles somewhat a feather two lines in width furnished with au osseous fringe, which is directed from