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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: TOO-TUM |
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TOUCAN , the Brazilian name of a bird,' long since adopted into nearly all European languages, and apparently first given currency in England (though not then used as an English word) in 1668 2 by W. Charleton (Onomasticon, p. 115); but the bird, with its enormous beak and feather-like tongue, was described by Oviedo in his Sumario de la historic natural de las Indias, first published at Toledo in 1527 (ch. 42),3 and, to quote the translation of part of the passage in F. Willughby
pack
'Commonly believed to be so called from its cry; but Skeat (Prot. Philolog. Society, May 15, 1885) adduces evidence to prove that the Guarani Tuca is from nose, and cdng, bone,; i.e. nose of bone. 2 In 1656 the beak of an " Aracari of Brazil," which was a toucan of some sort, was contained in the Musaeum tradescantianum (p. 2), but the word toucan does not appear there. ' The writer has only been able to consult the reprint of this rare work contained in the Biblioteca de autores espanoles (xxii. 473-515), published at Madrid in 1852. still incorrect) from a drawing received from Ferrerius, and suggested that from the size of its beak the bird should be called Burhynchus or Ramphestes. This figure, with a copy of Thevet's and a detailed description, was repeated in the posthumous edition (1585) of his larger work (pp. 800, 801). By 1579 Ambroise Pare (Euvres, ed. Malgaigne, iii. 783) had dissected a toucan that belonged to Charles IX. of France, and about the same time Lery (Voyage fait en la terre du Bresil, ch. xi.), whose chief
By recent
lilac
(pronounced Arassari), the sexes more or less differ in appearance, and the tail is graduated. The species are smaller in size, and nearly all are banded on the belly, which is generally yellow, with black and scarlet, while except in two the throat of the males at least is black. One of the most remarkable and beautiful is P. beauharnaisi, by some authors placed in a distinct genus and called Beauharnaisius ulocomus. In this the feathers of the top of the head are very singular, looking like glossy curled shavings of black horn or whalebone, the effect being due tothe dilatation of the shaft and its coalescence with the consolidated barbs. Some of the feathers of the straw-coloured throat and cheeks partake of the same structure, but in a less degree, while the subterminal part of the lamina is of a lustrous pearly-white.' The beak is richly coloured, ' One point of some interest
body
Joh. Faber, in his additions to Hernandez's work on the Natural History of Mexico (1651), figures (p. 697) one seen and described by Puteus (Dal Pozzo) at Fontainebleau.2 Of this the brothers Sturm in 1841 published at Nuremberg a German version. 3 This curious peculiarity naturally attracted the notice of the first discoverer of the species, Poeppig, who briefly described it in a letter published in Froriep's Notizen (xxxii. 146) for December 1831.being green and crimson above and lemon below. The upper plumage generally is dark green, but the mantle and rump are crimson, as are a broad abdominal belt, the flanks and many crescentic markings on the otherwise yellow lower parts.' The group or genus Selenodera, proposed by J. Gould in 1837 (Icones avium, pt. I), contains some 6 or 7 species, having the beak, which is mostly transversely striped, and tail shorter than in Pteroglossus. Here the sexes also differ in coloration, the males having the head and breast black, and the females the same parts chestnut; but all have a yellow nuchal crescent
elevation
The monstrous serrated bill that so many toucans possess was by G. L. L. Buffon accounted a grave defect of nature, and it must be confessed that no one has given what seems to be a satisfactory explanation of its precise use, though on evolutionary principles none will now doubt its fitness to the bird's requirements. Solid as it looks, its weight is inconsiderable, and the perfect hinge by which the maxilla is articulated. adds to its efficiency as an instrument of prehension. W. Swainson (Classif. Birds, ii. 138) imagined it merely " to contain an infinity of nerves, disposed like net-work, all of which lead immediately to the nostrils," and add to the olfactory faculty. This notion seems to be borrowed from J. W. H. Trail (Trans. Linn. Society, xi. 289), who admittedly had it from Waterton, and stated that it was " an admirable contrivance of nature to increase the delicacy of the organ of smell ;" but R. Owen's description showed this view to be groundless, and he attributed the extraordinary development of the toucan's beak to the need of compensating, by the additional power of mastication thus given, for the absence of any of the grinding structures that are so characteristic of the intestinal tract of vegetable-eating birdsits digestive organs possessing a general simplicity of formation. The nostrils are placed so as to be in most forms invisible until sought, being obscured by the frontal feathers or the backward prolongation of the horny sheath of the beak. The wings are somewhat feeble, and the legs have the toes placed in pairs, two before and two behind. The tail is capable of free vertical motion, and controlled by strong muscles, so that, at least in the true toucans, when the bird is preparing to sleep it is reverted and lies almost flat on the back, on which also the huge bill reposes, pointing in the opposite direction. The toucans are limited to the new world, and by far the greater number inhabit the north of South America, especially Guiana and the valley of the Amazons. Some three species occur in Mexico , and several in Central America. One, R. vitellinus, which has its head-quarters on the mainland, is said to be common in Trinidad, but none are found in the Antilles proper. They compose the family Rhamphastidae of Coraciiform birds, and are associated with the wood-peckers (Picidae) and puff-birds and jacamars (Galbulidae) ; their nearest allies perhaps exist among the Capitonidae, but none of these is believed to have the long feather-like tongue which is so characteristic of the toucans, and is, so far as known, possessed besides only by the Momotidae (see MOTMOT). But of these last there is no reason to deem the toucans close relatives, and according to W. Swainson, who had opportunities of observing both, the alleged resemblance in their habits has no existence. Toucans in confinement feed mainly on fruit, but little seems amiss to them, and they swallow grubs, reptiles and small birds with avidity. They nest in hollow trees, and lay white eggs. (A. N.)End of Article: TOUCAN If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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