Fernandes gives the name of _Tucan_ to an animal of New Spain, whose
natural habits approach nearer to that of the mole than to any other
animal. It appears to me to be the same animal as that described by
Seba, by the name of the American red mole; at least the descriptions
given by these two authors agree sufficiently to admit such a
presumption. The tucan is perhaps a little larger than our mole; like
that it is flat and fleshy, and has such short legs, that its belly
touches the ground. The tail is short, its ears small and round;
and its eyes so very small, that they are, in a manner of speaking,
useless. But it differs from the mole in the colour of its hair, which
is of a reddish yellow; and by the number of toes, having only three
to the fore-feet, and four to those behind, whereas the mole has five
toes on each foot. It seems still farther to differ from the mole by
its flesh being good to eat; and in not having the same instinct of
recovering its retreat when it is once come out, but each time is
obliged to burrow a fresh hole: so that in certain soils, which agree
with these animals, the holes made by them are so very numerous, and so
near each other, that great precaution is necessary to walk in safety.