[Illustration: TOUCAN.]
An immense beak is the first thing to attract attention to any member of
the Toucan family. This group is divided into the Common Toucans and the
Aracaris. The Aracari are not so large as the other Toucans, and they
have a more solid beak and a longer tail. The Curl-crested Aracaris is
noted for its beautiful variegated plumage.
Some of the Common Toucans also have handsome markings about the throat;
but the enormous beak is their principal characteristic, and it is much
the same in all the different members of the family.
It is much longer than the head, is curved at its extremity and dented
at its edges. It is not so heavy to bear, and incommodes the movements
of the Birds less than might be supposed, for it is formed of a spongy
tissue, the numerous cells of which are filled with air. Thus it is very
weak, and does not serve to break or even to bruise fruits,
notwithstanding the idea one forms at first sight of its strength, for
it is not even capable of breaking off the bark of trees, as certain
authors have claimed. This wonderful bill encloses a still more strange
tongue; very straight and as long as the beak, which is covered on each
side with closely packed barbs, similar to a feather, the use of which
remains to us a complete mystery. This curious instrument so struck the
Naturalists of Brazil, where many Toucans are found, that it furnished
them with a name. In Brazilian toucan means “feather.”
Toucans feed on fruits and insects; they live in bands of from six to
ten in damp places where the palm tree flourishes, for its fruit is
their favorite food. In eating they seize the fruit with the extremity
of the beak, make it bounce up in the air, receive it then into the
throat, and swallow it in one piece. If it is too large, and impossible
to divide, they reject it. They are rarely seen on the ground, and
although their flight is heavy and difficult, they perch on the branches
of the highest trees, where they remain in ceaseless motion. Their call
is a sort of whistle, frequently uttered.
They build their nests in holes hollowed out by Woodpeckers or other
Birds. They all have very brilliant plumage, and inhabit Paraguay,
Brazil and Guiana.