. The natural history of birds . singularly formed in the are two genera; toucans proper (Bhamphasios),and aracari (^Pteroglossus), of which the systematicnames are not very descriptive, as each has the cha-racter expressed by both. Each is rhamphastos,large bill, or, colloquially, beaky ; and each ispteroglossus, winged-tongue, or feather-tongue ; butthe toucans have the bill largest, alwaj^s exceedingthe section of the head, and sometimes as large as thewhole body, while the bill of the aracari is not thickerthan the head. The following sketch will show thegeneral form of the b
. The natural history of birds . singularly formed in the are two genera; toucans proper (Bhamphasios),and aracari (^Pteroglossus), of which the systematicnames are not very descriptive, as each has the cha-racter expressed by both. Each is rhamphastos,large bill, or, colloquially, beaky ; and each ispteroglossus, winged-tongue, or feather-tongue ; butthe toucans have the bill largest, alwaj^s exceedingthe section of the head, and sometimes as large as thewhole body, while the bill of the aracari is not thickerthan the head. The following sketch will show thegeneral form of the bill of the toucan. The general substance of this vast bill is cellular,with the partitions of the cells so very thin that,large as it is, it is very light. In the living state thecovering membrane is very finely coloured withprismatic reflections, but these soon fade after death. 208 BILL OF THE TOUCANS. The rudely serrated edges are a little firmer thanthe other parts, but still they could not injure anybut a very soft Toucan. The tongue is stiff and cartilaginous toward thepoint, and for some distance pectinated on eachside Mith stiff cartilaginous fibres, which give itsomething the appearance of a feather. From its structure we may readily conclude thata bill of this description can be little more than aprehensile instrument, unfit for breaking a hardsubstance, or cutting a tough one. It seems, in-deed, to be a sort of mortar, in which soft substancesare in so far pounded by the action of the curioustongue, as that they can be swallowed. Insects,probably the naked and the more tender shelledmoUusca, and the eggs and callow young of littlebirds, are the food of these birds ; in search ofwhich they hop about the trees, and though theirwings are rather short, they fly tolerably well. Thetwo genera are not very different in their food, orin their other habits ; but besides the difterence inthe size of the bills, there is a remarkable differ-ence in colour, which t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidnaturalhistoryof00mudi, booksubjectbirds
