. Natural history. Zoology. Tig. 84.âLadt Eoss TOURACOE and of a dull birds, and are Africa. In the true touracoes (Tiiracus) the nostrils are hidden by bristles; in all the other genera they are exposed. In the genus Musophaga, of which M. rossce, from Angola and the Congo basin, is an ex- ample, there is not only an ornamental frontal shield of red, but the primary quills are of a deep crimson, as they are in all the members of the genus Turacus. From the wing-feathers of these birds has been ex- tracted a kind of copper called turacine. The nest of the touracoes is an open one, made of stic
. Natural history. Zoology. Tig. 84.âLadt Eoss TOURACOE and of a dull birds, and are Africa. In the true touracoes (Tiiracus) the nostrils are hidden by bristles; in all the other genera they are exposed. In the genus Musophaga, of which M. rossce, from Angola and the Congo basin, is an ex- ample, there is not only an ornamental frontal shield of red, but the primary quills are of a deep crimson, as they are in all the members of the genus Turacus. From the wing-feathers of these birds has been ex- tracted a kind of copper called turacine. The nest of the touracoes is an open one, made of sticks, and the egg is white. In all the Scansores the foot is typically zygo- dactyle, the first and fourth toes being turned backwards, the second and third The Climbing forwards, and the arrangement of Birds.âOrder the plantar tendons is as curious. Scansores. The flexor performis digitorum ten- don leads to the third digit only, while the flexor longus hallueis first sends a tendon to the other plantar tendon, and a second to the fourth digit, after which (if the hallux be present) it splits into two tendons, one leading to the hallux, the other to the second digit. Of the three sub-orders of the Scanso^-es the toucans are exclusively neo- tropical. They are very plentifully represented in Central and South America, and are remarkable for their long, generally parti- Tlie Toucans.â coloured bill, and for their curious feathery tongue. The Sub-order palate is desmognathous or "bridged," and the vomer Rhamphastides. truncated. The toucans are about sixty in number, and are contained in five genera, Ehamphastos, Andigena, Pteroglossxis, Selenidera, and Avla- corhamphus. The long bill, which at first sight appears so clumsy and awk- ward, is really a very light structure, full of empty cellules, and the colours of the bill are usually those of the adjoining bare skin of the face. The birds inhabit the forests and feed on fruit, and are often found in company. Though th
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