The TOUCAN BARBET (_Tetragonops ramphastinus_), an American species,
may be regarded as the connecting link between the Barbets and Toucans.
In these birds the powerful beak is square at its base, and the lower
mandible forked at its extremity in such a manner as to receive the hook
in which the upper portion of the bill terminates; the wings and tail are
both of moderate size, and the latter much graduated; the head, a band on
the nape, the wing-covers, and tail are black; the upper portion of the
tail is brownish grey, and its lower part of a yellowish hue; the throat
is adorned by a triangular white spot; the throat and sides of the belly
are grey, and a line dividing the former from the latter bright scarlet;
the centre of the breast is a rich fiery red. The eye is yellowish; the
beak yellow at its base and black at its tip; the feet are deep grey. This
species is eight inches and a quarter long; the wing measures four inches
and the tail three inches and three-quarters. We are entirely without
particulars concerning this beautiful bird, except that it inhabits
Ecuador.
* * * * *
The HORNBILLS (_Bucerotidæ_) are remarkable for the unusual size of their
bills, which are frequently so large as to appear almost a deformity;
in many species this effect is increased by a singular, helmet-shaped
excrescence at the base of the beak. The whole structure, which appears
so ponderous, is in reality very light, being composed of an outer
case, supported by a bony net-work filled with air; so delicate is this
helmet-like protuberance in some species, that after the death of the
bird it may readily be crushed with the thumb and finger. In shape this
remarkable beak is long, curved, and pointed; the margins of the upper
mandible are often irregularly incised. The feet, which are stout and
powerful, have the anterior toes more or less united.
* * * * *
The TOUCANS (_Ramphastidæ_) are a numerous race of South American birds,
at once recognisable by the prodigious size of their beaks, and by the
richness of their plumage.
"These birds," says the Prince von Wied, in some notes communicated to
Mr. Gould, "are very common in all parts of the extensive forests of the
Brazils, and are killed in great numbers during the cool seasons of the
year for the table. To the stranger they are even of greater interest
than to the native, from their remarkable form, and from the rich and
strongly-contrasted style of their colouring, their black or green bodies
being adorned with markings of the most brilliant hue; red or orange,
blue, and white; their naked orbits in some instances red, and in others
green or blue; the naked parts of the body dyed with brilliant colours,
the legs blue or green, and irides blue or yellow; the large bill of
a different colour in every species, and in many instances very gaily
marked. The colouring of the soft parts is, however, so evanescent that to
determine the species with accuracy they must be depicted during life, or
immediately after the birds are killed. Common as these birds are in their
native land, it is extremely difficult to detect their breeding-places;
it is, however, certain that they deposit their eggs in the hollow limbs
and holes of the colossal trees so common in the tropical forests, but
I was never fortunate enough to discover them. The stomachs of those I
examined contained nothing but the remains of fruit, principally of the
softer kinds, for which, indeed, they have such a liking that they resort
in great numbers to the plantations in the vicinity of their native
haunts, and commit fearful havoc among their favourite delicacies: I was
informed, that they frequently steal and eat young birds, but no instance
of their doing so came under my own observation. Mr. Waterton's opinion
agrees with mine, but Azara, among others, states that they also feed
upon animal substances. The specimens we saw in a state of domestication
were very voracious, and perfectly omnivorous; but they seem to be purely
frugivorous in a state of nature, a fact which was fully confirmed by the
Brazilian natives we questioned on the subject. In their manners the
_Ramphastidæ_ offer some resemblance to the _Corvidæ_, and, like them,
are very troublesome to birds of prey, particularly to the Owls, which
they surround and annoy by making a great noise, all the while jerking
their tails upwards and downwards. The flight of these birds is easy and
graceful, and they sweep with facility over the loftiest trees of their
native forests; their strangely-developed bills are no encumbrance to
them, as the interior being replete with a tissue of air-filled cells
renders these organs very light and even buoyant. The voice of the
_Ramphastidæ_ is short and unmelodious, and somewhat different in every
species. Their feathers are used by the natives for general decoration,
especially the yellow breasts of the birds, which they affix to their
heads on each side, near the temple, and also to the ends of their bows."
[Illustration: THE ARASSARI (_Pteroglossus aracari_).]
* * * * *
The ARASSARIS (_Pteroglossus_) possess a comparatively small, slender,
rounded beak, which is compressed at its tip, equals the head in height,
and is more or less incised at its margins. The short wing, in which the
third quill is the longest, is pointed, and the tail long and conical.
The plumage usually exhibits a great variety of colours, amongst which,
however, green or yellow predominate. In some species the females differ
considerably in appearance from their mates.
[Illustration: _Plate 25. Cassell's Book of Birds_