TOUCAN, Ramphastos, a Linnwan genus of birds now forming the family ramphas tide, which belongs to the order scansores, and contains nearly forty known species, all natives of tropical America, and remarkable for the magnitude of the bill. They are divided into two groups, the true toucans (ramphastos), and the aracaris (q.v.) (ptero glosses), of which the latter contains the greater number of species; the former has ihe largest bill, and the tail is shorter. There is a difference also in the prevalent colors, the aracaris generally exhibiting much green and yellow, while the true toucans have the ground color of the plumage usually black; the throat, breast, and rump 'often gayly adorned with white, yellow, and red. The colors, however, are not in general finely blended, but appear in strong contrast. The legs of toucans are short; the feet have two toes before and two behind. The form of the body is short and thick; the tail is rounded or even, varying in length in the different species from half the length to almost the whole length of the body, and is capable of being turned up over the body in a remarkable manner, which it always is when the bird is at roost. The neck is short and thick; the enormous bill is at the base of the full width and depth of the head, and is in some species more than half the length of the body. It is arched toward the tip, irregularly toothed along the margins of themandibles, and extremely cellular and light, yet strong in structure. The tongue is very long, narrow, and singularly
feathered on each side, the processes which give it this feathered appearance proba bly adding much to its sensibility as an organ of taste. When a toucan takes food between the points of the mandibles, the tongue is immediately applied to it, as if to test or enjoy it, and afterward it is tossed into the throat by a sudden throwing back of the head. Toucans may almost be described as omnivorous; they eat fruits with avidity, but they also seize and devour small birds. Their powerful bill enables them to kill a small bird by a single squeeze. They make a curious clattering noise with their great mandibles, and, also emit at times a harsh cry. They live chiefly in the depths of the South American forests, in small flocks. They are easily tamed, and bear cold climates well. In captivity, they readily eat rice, bread, potatoes. eggs, and many other kinds of food. They are remarkable among birds for regurgitation of food. in order to a kind of mastication in the great bill, analogous to rumination, iu quadrupeds. The colors of the bill are, in most of the species, very brilliant dur Ing life, but disappear from stuffed specimens in museums. The largest species, as ratnplatstos toco, are about 27 iu. in length, the bill in this species measuring 7i in., and. the tail 10 inches.