INTRODUCTION:

14

many of the works more recently published. The species observed by me durmg my travels in Brazil, which
c = «

o the 23rd degrees of south latitude, or from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, were

extended from the 13th t |
Ramphastos Toco, R. Ariel, Pteroglossus Wiedi, and Pt. maculrostris.

Mr. Waterton remarks, that ‘ While the Co¢imgas attract your attention by their superior plumage, the

singular form of the Toucan makes a lasting impression on your memory.

«There are three species of Toucans in Demerara, and three diminutives which may be called
Toucanets. The largest of the former frequents the Mangrove-trees on the sea coast. It is never seen in

the interior till you reach Machauchia, where it is found in the neighbourhood of the river Tacatoa; the

other two species are very common. They feed entirely on the fruits of the forest, and though of the Pie
kind, never kill the young of other birds or touch carrion.

“The larger is called Bouradi by the Indians (which means zose), the other Sezrow. They seem
partial to each other’s company, and often resort to the same feeding-tree, and retire to the same shady
noon-day retreat. [hey are very noisy in rainy weather at all hours of the day, and in fair weather at
morn and eve. The sound the Bouradi makes is like the clear yelping of a puppy dog, and you fancy he
says ‘ Pia-po-o-co,’ and thus the South American Spaniards call him P2apoco. All the Toucanets feed on the
same trees on which the Toucan feeds, and every species of this family of enormous bill lays its eggs in
the hollow trees. They are social but not gregarious. You may sometimes see eight or ten in company, and
from this you may suppose they are gregarious, but upon a closer examination you find it is only a dinner
party which breaks up and disperses towards roosting time. You will be at a loss to conjecture for what
end nature has overloaded the head of this bird with such an enormous bill; it cannot be for the offensive,
as it has no need to wage war with any of the tribes of animated nature, for its food is fruits and seed, and
those are in superabundance throughout the whole year in the regions where the Toucan is found. It
cannot be for the defensive, as the Toucan is preyed upon by no bird in South America, and were it
obliged to be at war; the texture of the bill is ill-adapted to give or receive blows, as you will see by
dissecting it.

“The flight of the Toucan is by jerks; in the action of flying it seems incommoded by this huge
disproportionate feature, and the head seems as if bowed down to the earth by it against its will. If the
extraordinary size and form of the bill expose the Toucan to ridicule, its colours make it amends. Were a
specimen of each species of Toucan presented to you, you would pronounce the bill of the Bouwradi the
most rich and beautiful one. It is worthy of remark, that all these brilliant colours of the bill are to be

found in the plumage of the body and the bare skin round the eye.”

I now give the account published by Azara, a man of great acumen and research, who studied closely

the animals of South America, and whose works will always be held valuable