Part 18

The BARBETS (_Capitones_) possess a strong, conical beak, of moderate size, and much compressed at its tip; short and powerful feet, with the toes placed in pairs; small or medium-sized wings, rounded at their extremity, and a comparatively long tail. The plumage, which is most resplendent, is replaced by bristles in the region of the beak. The members of this family are spread over Asia and Africa, and are brisk and lively birds, associating freely with their congeners, and busily seeking the berries, fruits, and insects, upon which they subsist, from bush to bush and tree to tree, rarely or never descending to the ground. Their flight is rapid, but not sustained to any great distance, owing to the weight of their bodies; almost all have loud, resonant voices, while some species utter something resembling a regular song. The nests of the Barbets are placed in hollow trees, or holes in the ground, but, except this, and the fact that the eggs are white, we are entirely without particulars as to their manner of incubation.

THE PEARL BIRD.

The PEARL BIRD (_Trachyphonus margaritatus_) represents an African group, possessing a moderate-sized and slender beak, which is slightly arched, and compressed at its tip; the comparatively high feet have the tarsi longer than the centre toe; the fourth quill of the moderately long wing exceeds the rest in length; the tail is of medium length, and rounded at its extremity. The plumage of the back is brown, spotted and marked with white, that of the under side bright glossy yellow, shading into red on the breast; the brow, crown of the head, and, in the male bird, a chain of spots upon the breast, are black; the rump and vent are deep bright red. The eye is dark red, the beak light red, and the foot lead-grey. This species is seven inches long, the wing measures three inches and a half.

We have frequently met with these beautiful birds in most parts of North-eastern Africa, where they constantly visit the fields and gardens near the settlements, making themselves particularly conspicuous during the early morning and in the evening, by flying around the tops of the loftiest trees, or by pouring forth their deep but lively notes with an animation that gives the performance almost the effect of a pleasing song. The food of this species consists of seeds, fruit, and insects, in pursuit of which it displays but little skill while climbing about the branches; its flight consists of a hovering, whirring motion, and is seldom long sustained. The oval, pure white eggs obtained by Heuglin, on the 26th of September, were found in holes situated in the side of a bank of earth; in one instance the interior had no lining of any description, and in the other a mere bed of reeds, on which the eggs were deposited. We are unable to state whether these holes are excavated by the parent birds.

THE GOLDEN BARBET.

The GOLDEN BARBET (_Xantholæma Indica_) represents a group characterised by their short beak, bulging outwards at its sides, slightly-pointed wings, in which the third, fourth, and fifth quills are the longest, and a short, almost straight tail. The plumage of the mantle is green, that of the under side yellow, or greenish white; the feathers on the back and wing-covers are bordered with yellow, and those on the breast striped with green. The brow and a spot on the throat, are glossy scarlet, the latter edged with gold at its lower portion; a band at the nape, the breast, and a stripe upon the chin are black. The eye is deep brown, the beak black, and the foot bright red. The length of this bird is six inches and a half, and its breadth eleven inches; the wing measures three inches and a quarter, and the tail one inch and a half.

"This species of Barbet," writes Jerdon, "is found throughout all India, extending into the Burmese countries, Malayana, Ceylon, and the isles; according to Adams, it is not met with in the Himalayas or in the Punjaub. This bird is very common wherever there is a sufficiency of trees, inhabiting open spaces in the jungles, groves of trees, avenues, and gardens, being very familiar, and approaching close to houses, and not unfrequently perching on the housetop. As far as I have observed, it does not climb like the Woodpecker, but hops about the branches like other perching birds. The Rev. Mr. Philips, however, states that it runs up and down the trees like a Woodpecker, and other observers have asserted that it climbs to its hole; but I confess I have never seen this, and Mr. Blyth is most decidedly of opinion that Barbets never climb. The latter naturalist found that one of these birds which he kept alive would take insects into its mouth and munch them, but swallowed none, and forsook them immediately when fruit was offered. It has a remarkably loud note, which sounds like 'took-took-took,' and this it generally utters when rested at the top of some tree, putting its head at each call first on one side and then on the other. Sundevall states that the call is like a low note on the flute, from the lower G to the second E. This sound, and the motion of the head accompanying it, have given origin to the name 'Coppersmith,' by which this species is known both by natives and Europeans. The sound often appears to come from a different direction to that from which it does really proceed; this appears to me to depend on the direction of the bird's head. Mr. Philips accounts for it by saying that it alters the intensity of its call. Sundervall remarks that 'the same individual always utters the same note, but that two of these birds are seldom heard to make it alike.' When, therefore, two or more individuals are sitting near each other, a not unpleasing music arises from the alternation of the note, each sounding like the tone of a series of bells. The Crimson-breasted Barbet breeds in holes of trees, laying two or more white eggs. A pair bred in my garden at Saugor on the cross-beam of a vinery. The perfectly circular entrance was on the under side of the beam. This nest appeared to me to have been used for several years, and the bird had gone on lengthening the cavity year by year, till the distance from the original entrance was four or five feet; another entrance had then been made, also from below, about two feet and a half from the nest. Quite recently I discovered a nest built by this bird in a hole of a decayed tree-branch, close to a house in a large thoroughfare in Calcutta." The Golden, or Crimson-breasted Barbet, as it is sometimes called, subsists upon the fruit of various plants, but, according to Blyth, has also been known to eat animal food. The eggs are white, and two or more in number.

THE TOUCAN BARBET.

The TOUCAN BARBET (_Tetragonops ramphastinus_), an American species, may be regarded as the connecting link between the Barbets and Toucans. In these birds the powerful beak is square at its base, and the lower mandible forked at its extremity in such a manner as to receive the hook in which the upper portion of the bill terminates; the wings and tail are both of moderate size, and the latter much graduated; the head, a band on the nape, the wing-covers, and tail are black; the upper portion of the tail is brownish grey, and its lower part of a yellowish hue; the throat is adorned by a triangular white spot; the throat and sides of the belly are grey, and a line dividing the former from the latter bright scarlet; the centre of the breast is a rich fiery red. The eye is yellowish; the beak yellow at its base and black at its tip; the feet are deep grey. This species is eight inches and a quarter long; the wing measures four inches and the tail three inches and three-quarters. We are entirely without particulars concerning this beautiful bird, except that it inhabits Ecuador.

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The HORNBILLS (_Bucerotidæ_) are remarkable for the unusual size of their bills, which are frequently so large as to appear almost a deformity; in many species this effect is increased by a singular, helmet-shaped excrescence at the base of the beak. The whole structure, which appears so ponderous, is in reality very light, being composed of an outer case, supported by a bony net-work filled with air; so delicate is this helmet-like protuberance in some species, that after the death of the bird it may readily be crushed with the thumb and finger. In shape this remarkable beak is long, curved, and pointed; the margins of the upper mandible are often irregularly incised. The feet, which are stout and powerful, have the anterior toes more or less united.

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The TOUCANS (_Ramphastidæ_) are a numerous race of South American birds, at once recognisable by the prodigious size of their beaks, and by the richness of their plumage.

"These birds," says the Prince von Wied, in some notes communicated to Mr. Gould, "are very common in all parts of the extensive forests of the Brazils, and are killed in great numbers during the cool seasons of the year for the table. To the stranger they are even of greater interest than to the native, from their remarkable form, and from the rich and strongly-contrasted style of their colouring, their black or green bodies being adorned with markings of the most brilliant hue; red or orange, blue, and white; their naked orbits in some instances red, and in others green or blue; the naked parts of the body dyed with brilliant colours, the legs blue or green, and irides blue or yellow; the large bill of a different colour in every species, and in many instances very gaily marked. The colouring of the soft parts is, however, so evanescent that to determine the species with accuracy they must be depicted during life, or immediately after the birds are killed. Common as these birds are in their native land, it is extremely difficult to detect their breeding-places; it is, however, certain that they deposit their eggs in the hollow limbs and holes of the colossal trees so common in the tropical forests, but I was never fortunate enough to discover them. The stomachs of those I examined contained nothing but the remains of fruit, principally of the softer kinds, for which, indeed, they have such a liking that they resort in great numbers to the plantations in the vicinity of their native haunts, and commit fearful havoc among their favourite delicacies: I was informed, that they frequently steal and eat young birds, but no instance of their doing so came under my own observation. Mr. Waterton's opinion agrees with mine, but Azara, among others, states that they also feed upon animal substances. The specimens we saw in a state of domestication were very voracious, and perfectly omnivorous; but they seem to be purely frugivorous in a state of nature, a fact which was fully confirmed by the Brazilian natives we questioned on the subject. In their manners the _Ramphastidæ_ offer some resemblance to the _Corvidæ_, and, like them, are very troublesome to birds of prey, particularly to the Owls, which they surround and annoy by making a great noise, all the while jerking their tails upwards and downwards. The flight of these birds is easy and graceful, and they sweep with facility over the loftiest trees of their native forests; their strangely-developed bills are no encumbrance to them, as the interior being replete with a tissue of air-filled cells renders these organs very light and even buoyant. The voice of the _Ramphastidæ_ is short and unmelodious, and somewhat different in every species. Their feathers are used by the natives for general decoration, especially the yellow breasts of the birds, which they affix to their heads on each side, near the temple, and also to the ends of their bows."

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The ARASSARIS (_Pteroglossus_) possess a comparatively small, slender, rounded beak, which is compressed at its tip, equals the head in height, and is more or less incised at its margins. The short wing, in which the third quill is the longest, is pointed, and the tail long and conical. The plumage usually exhibits a great variety of colours, amongst which, however, green or yellow predominate. In some species the females differ considerably in appearance from their mates.

THE ARASSARI.

The ARASSARI (_Pteroglossus aracari_), a native of Brazil, is principally of a deep metallic green; the throat and head are black, the cheeks shaded with brownish violet, and the lower breast and belly pale greenish yellow; the rump, and a line along the centre of the belly, are red; the tail is blackish green above and greyish green beneath. The eye is brown, the bare places round the eyes are greyish black, the upper mandible is yellowish white, with black culmen and mouth-corners, while the lower portion of the bill is black, edged with white; the legs are greenish grey. This species is seventeen inches long; the wing measures six, and the tail six and a half inches.

The Arassari, as we learn from the Prince von Wied, inhabits the primitive forests of Brazil, and closely resembles the Toucan in its habits; during the period of incubation it lives in pairs, but at other seasons in small parties, which fly over the face of the country in search of the fruits upon which they mainly subsist. Their flight, which resembles that of the Toucan, is undulatory and very rapid. When perched on the summits of high trees, they constantly repeat the two short notes that form their cry, and whisk with the tail after the manner of the Common Jay. The nest is made in a hollow tree, and contains two eggs. Towards many birds of prey, especially Owls, the Arassaris exhibit much hostility, and frequently assemble to harry and annoy them as they sit droning away the bright hours of daylight. The flesh of this species is good food, and they become very fat during the winter. Burmeister, who affirms that the Arassaris do not confine themselves to a fruit diet, but freely eat insects and beetles, describes their appearance and movement among the trees as closely resembling those of a party of Parrots. Bates mentions that on one occasion, when descending a gully, having fired at one of these birds, as it sat apparently alone upon the bough of a lofty tree, he was much startled to find his victim's cry of pain answered by the simultaneous appearance of a large number of its terrified companions. In the twinkling of an eye every branch was occupied; and the birds, indignant at being thus roused from their repose, fluttered, shrieked, and flapped their wings like so many furies, in defiance of the unwelcome intruder. All attempts to capture any of the belligerents proved fruitless, for the cries of their dying associate had no sooner ceased than they retired as suddenly as they had appeared, and immediately ensconced themselves in some unseen but safe retreat within their leafy fastnesses.

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The TOUCANS PROPER (_Ramphastus_) are at once recognisable by the extraordinary size of their curved beak, which is very thick at its base, compressed at its tip, and furnished with a sharp ridge at its culmen. The high, powerful legs are covered with large flat scales, the tarsi are short, and the toes long; the small, broad, rounded tail, is composed of feathers of equal length; the wings are short, and the fourth and fifth quills longer than the rest; a black gloss predominates in the coloration of the plumage, enlivened by red, white, or yellow patches on the throat, back, and wings. All the various species of these birds live in pairs, within the shade of the forest, only exceptionally congregating into small parties, and never venturing near the abodes of man.

THE TOCO TOUCAN.

The TOCO TOUCAN (_Ramphastus toco_) is principally of a glossy black; the throat, cheeks, lower throat, and upper tail-covers are white, and the rump light red. The large high beak is bright orange-red, shading to deep red at the culmen and towards the tip of the lower mandible; while the tip and edges of the upper portion of the bill are black, the eyes, cheek-stripes, and region of the temple bright red; the eyelids blackish blue, and the legs dark grey. The length of this bird is twenty-two inches; the wing measures eight inches and three-quarters, and the tail five inches and a quarter.

The Toco Toucan, as we learn from the Prince von Wied, is never found near the coast, but is plentiful in the interior of the province of Minas Geroes and Bahia. It is abundant in the southern parts of Brazil, in latitude thirty-two degrees south. Those observed in the neighbourhood of Bahia were very shy, the result of their having been repeatedly fired at by the inhabitants in defence of their fruit-trees, and to procure them for food; notwithstanding which, the desire to feed upon the oranges and guavas induced them to approach very near the town at the season when those fruits were ripening. Very pretty little powder-flasks are made of their large, finely-coloured bills. "M. Natterer," writes Gould, in his magnificent work on the _Ramphastidæ_, "who first met with this bird in the province of St. Paul, and afterwards on the coast of Goyay and Mattogrosso, on the banks of the Amazon and Upper Rio Branco", remarks that "it will probably be found on all parts of Brazil, and believes that the bird prefers woods adjoining sandy plains, for he more than once met with it in low steppes and coppices, where ripe fruits were to be found. We generally met with it in small families, and observed that the bill varied in length according to the age and sex of the bird; and that its note, resembling 'gr-r-ra,' was deeper than that of any other member of the family." Mr. Edwards tells us that he saw the nest of this species in the fork of a large tree over the water of the Amazon, but we are of opinion that the nidification of this bird should be described by other observers before full reliance be placed on the assertion that it makes a nest, for the hollows of trees are the usual incubating places of all the Toucans.

THE KIRIMA, OR RED-BILLED TOUCAN.

The KIRIMA, or RED-BILLED TOUCAN (_Ramphastus crythrorhynchus_)--see Coloured Plate XXVI.--a very similar, but more slenderly-built species, is a beautiful bird inhabiting North America. It has a scarlet beak, with yellow base and culmen, a broad red band on the white throat, and a yellow rump.

In its general habits and manners the Red-billed Toucan resembles the rest of its congeners, leaping lightly from branch to branch among the topmost foliage of the lofty trees of its native forests. Mr. Waterton states that the native name is _Bouradi_, signifying "nose;" that it frequents the mangrove-trees on the sea-coast, and is never seen in the interior till you reach Mackonochia, where it is found in the neighbourhood of the river Tucuton. It feeds entirely on the fruits of the forest, and never kills the young of other birds or devours carrion. The sound the Bouraki makes is like the clear yelping of a puppy-dog; you might fancy it said "pia-po-o-co." Thus the Spaniards calls this species Piapoco. It lays its eggs in the hollows of trees. Although Mr. Waterton states that the Red-billed Toucan lives entirely on fruits in its native wilds, it exhibits the utmost partiality to animal food when in a state of captivity, as shown by W. J. Broderip, Esq., in an account given by him of a specimen he examined at a bird-dealer's in St. Martin's Lane. "After looking at the bird, which was apparently in the highest state of health," says that gentleman, "I asked the proprietor to bring up a small bird, that I might see how the Toucan would be affected by its appearance. The dealer soon returned, bringing with him a last year's Goldfinch. The instant he introduced his hand, holding the Goldfinch, into the cage of the Toucan, the latter, which was on a perch, snatched it with his bill. The poor little bird had only time to utter a short weak cry, for within a second it was dead, killed by compression on the sternum and abdomen, and that so powerful that the bowels protruded after a very few squeezes with the Toucan's bill. As soon as the Goldfinch was dead the Toucan hopped with it in his bill to another perch, and placing it between his right foot and the perch, began to strip off the feathers with his beak. When he had plucked away most of them, he broke the bones of the wings and legs with his bill, taking the wings therein, and giving at the same time a strong lateral wrench. He continued this work with great dexterity till he had almost reduced the bird to a shapeless mass; and ever and anon he would take his prey from the perch in his bill, and hop from perch to perch, making, at the same time, a peculiar hollow, chattering noise, at which times I observed that his wings and bill were affected with a vibratory or shivering motion, though the former were not expanded. He then returned the bird to the perch, and having set his foot on it, ate first the viscera, and then continued pulling off and swallowing piece after piece, till the head, neck, and part of the back and sternum, with their soft parts, were alone left; these, after a little more wrenching, he at last swallowed, not even leaving the wings or legs. It was clear to me that he felt great enjoyment, for whenever he seized his prey from the perch he appeared to exult, now masticating the morsel with his toothed bill, and applying his tongue to it, now attempting to gorge it, and now making the peculiar chattering noise, accompanied by the shivering motion above mentioned. The whole operation lasted about a quarter of an hour. He then cleaned his beak, by rubbing it against the bars of his cage. I have more than once seen this bird return the food from his crop, sometimes twice after he had taken it, and after masticating the morsel awhile in his bill, again swallow it, the whole operation, particularly the return of the food to the bill, bearing a strong resemblance to the analogous action in ruminating animals. His food consisted of bread, boiled vegetables, eggs, and flesh; to which a little bird is added every second and third day. He shows a decided preference for animal food, picking out all morsels of that description, and only resorting to vegetable diet when all the other is exhausted.

"There is yet another peculiarity of this bird," continues Mr. Broderip, "that cannot be passed over in silence. When he settles himself to roost, he sits a short time with his tail retroverted, so as to make an acute angle with the line of his back; he then turns his bill over his right shoulder, nestling it in the soft feathers of the back (on which last the under mandible rests), till the bill is so entirely covered that no trace of it is visible. When disturbed, he does not drop his tail, but almost immediately returns his bill to the comfortable nidus from which he had withdrawn it. At these times the bird has the appearance of a ball of feathers."

THE TUKANA.

The TUKANA (_Ramphastus Temminckii_) has the feathers in the fore part of the throat of a bright yellow, edged with a paler shade. The hinder parts of the body are red, and the breast is adorned by a red line. The beak is glossy black, with a broad light yellow streak towards its base; the eye is blueish, the bare eye-ring deep red, and the foot lead-grey. The length of this species is eighteen inches and a half, and its breadth twenty-one inches. The wing measures seven inches, and the tail six inches and a half. The Tukana is an inhabitant of the forests on the coast of Brazil.

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