TOUCANS, HONEY-GUIDES, JACAMARS AND PUFF-BIRDS, BARBETS AND WOODPECKERS.
Gaudy in plumage, and somewhat ungainly in appearance, it must nevertheless be admitted that the Toucans form an exceedingly interesting group of birds. On account of their huge and gaily coloured beaks, they have been imagined to be related to the Hornbills; but even judging by this character, the two groups may be readily distinguished; for whereas the typical beak of the hornbill is surmounted by a large casque, the beak of the toucan is never so ornamented. The solid appearance of the beak in the toucan, by the way, is as much a fiction as with the hornbill, since the horny sheath is supported, not on a core of solid bone, but on a frame of delicate bony filigree-work, the spaces being filled by air. The coloration of the plumage (which is somewhat loose in character), as well as of the bare skin round the eye and the beak-sheath, is most brilliant, and displays immense variation amongst the different species.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
TROGON.
Trogons haunt the recesses of the thickest forests.
Shy and restless in their habits, toucans travel generally in small flocks amongst the forest-trees and mangrove-swamps in search of food, which consists mainly of fruits and seeds, varying this diet occasionally with ants and caterpillars. It is to this diet of fruit that the great size of the bill and its peculiar saw-like edges are to be traced—at least this is the opinion of the great traveller-naturalist Bates, who had so many opportunities of watching these birds. "Flowers and fruit," he writes, "on the crowns of the large trees of South American forests grow principally towards the end of slender twigs, which will not bear any considerable weight. All animals, therefore, which feed principally upon fruit, or on insects contained in flowers, must, of course, have some means of reaching the ends of the stalks from a distance. Monkeys obtain their food by stretching forth their long arms, and in some instances their tails, to bring the fruit near to their mouths; humming-birds are endowed with highly perfected organs of flight, with corresponding muscular development, by which they are enabled to sustain themselves on the wing before blossoms whilst rifling them of their contents; [and the long bill of the toucan enables it] to reach and devour fruit whilst remaining seated, and thus to counterbalance the disadvantage which its heavy body and gluttonous appetite would otherwise give it in the competition with allied groups of birds."
Toucans appear to be much esteemed as articles of food—at least during the months of June and July, when these birds get very fat, the flesh being exceedingly sweet and tender. They nest in holes of trees at a great height from the ground, and lay white eggs.
One of the most remarkable of the group is the Curl-crested Toucan, from the fact that the feathers on the crown of the head are peculiarly modified to form scroll-like, glossy curls, which have been compared to shavings of steel or ebony. Mr. Bates writes: "I had an amusing adventure one day with one of these birds. I had shot one from a rather high tree in a dark glen in the forest, and entered the thicket where the bird had fallen to secure my booty. It was only wounded, and on my attempting to seize it set up a loud scream. In an instant, as if by magic, the shady nook seemed alive with these birds, although there was certainly none visible when I entered the jungle. They descended towards me, hopping from bough to bough, some of them swinging on the loops and cables of woody lianas, and all croaking and fluttering their wings like so many furies. If I had had a long stick in my hand, I could have knocked several of them over. After killing the wounded one, I began to prepare for obtaining more specimens and punishing the viragos for their boldness. But the screaming of their companion having ceased, they remounted the trees, and before I could reload every one of them had disappeared."
With neither charm of colour nor peculiar shape, the small African birds known as Honey-guides are some of the most remarkable of birds, and this on account of a quite unique habit of inducing other animals, not even excepting man, to hunt for them. Sir John Kirk, writing of its habits in the Zambesi district, says: "The honey-guide is found in forests and often far from water, even during the dry season. On observing a man, it comes fluttering from branch to branch in the neighbouring trees, calling attention. If this be responded to—as the natives do by whistling and starting to their feet—the bird will go in a certain direction, and remain at a little distance, hopping from one tree to another. On being followed, it goes further; and so it will guide the way to a nest of bees. When this is reached, it flies about, but no longer guides; and then some knowledge is required to discover the nest, even when pointed out to within a few trees. I have known this bird, if the man, after taking up the direction for a little, then turns away, come back and offer to point out another nest in a different part. But if it does not know of two nests, it will remain behind. The difficulty is that the bird will point to tame bees in a bark hive as readily as to those in the forest. This is natural, as the bee is the same, the bark hive ... being simply fastened up in a tree, and left for the bees to come to.... The object the bird has in view is clearly the young bees. It will guide to nests having no honey, and seems equally delighted if the comb containing the grubs is torn out, when it is seen pecking at it."