Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
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withdrawn it.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.
* * * * *
The HORNBILLS PROPER (_Bucerotes_) are at once recognisable by the
remarkable horn-like protuberance that in many species rises at the
base of the very long, thick, and more or less curved beak. Their body
is slender, the neck moderately long, and head comparatively small; the
tail, composed of ten feathers, is of medium size, or very long; the wings
short, and very decidedly rounded, the tarsus short and the toes slender.
In many species the throat and region of the eye are bare, and the eyelid
furnished with well-developed eyelashes.
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