The Toucan once formed part of the savage regalia of the Indian caciques of the country, and upon the establishment of the empire, was symbolically retained by the Portuguese sovereigns.
In those districts the toucan was almost the only bird the aborigines attempted to domesticate.
Any predatory animal must face this formidable beak if seeking to force an entrance to the nest; and I know by experience that the toucan can use it with great quickness and effect.
I believe that the principal use of the long sharp bill of the toucan is also that of a weapon with which to defend itself against its enemies, especially when nesting in the hole of a tree.
In strong contrast to the ungainly toucan is the tiny humming-bird, whose beautiful plumage, swiftness of flight and power of wing are sources of constant wonder and admiration.
Another interesting species is the toucan (Ramphastos), whose enormous beak, awkward flight and raucous voice make it a conspicuous object in the great forests of northern Brazil.
The chief wears a head-dress of toucan feathers, with the erect tail-plumes rising from the crown.
It seems wonderful at first sight that any creature should be encumbered with so huge a beak; but the toucan knows well how to use it.
Here, also, the forests are adorned with the gay plumage of the red and blue macaws, as also by a toucan with a yellow tail.
When the toucan is at roost, it turns its long tail directly over its back, and thrusts its beak beneath the wing, so as to appear very much like a large mass of feathers.
The toucan (Ramphastos) belongs to the genus of scansorial birds.
Mr Broderip describes the curious way in which he saw a toucan seize a small bird, pluck off the feathers, and having broken the bones of the wings and legs with his beak, continue working away till he had reduced it to a shapeless mass.
He possessed a tame toucanof one of the large species, which was allowed to go free about the house.
Now, with a whir, a trogon on the wing seizes the fruit, or some clumsy toucan makes the branches shake as he alights above our heads.
The most curious, however, is the curly-crested toucan (Pteroglossus Beauharnaisii).
If a toucanis yelping in the neighbourhood, it drops its own note and imitates the huge-beaked bird.
The cries of the curly-crested toucan are very singular, resembling somewhat the croaking of frogs.
Cuvier's toucan inhabits the woods of the Upper Amazon.
The common or crested toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus) inhabits chiefly the lower part of the Amazon.
On the Amazons, where these birds are very common, no one pretends ever to have seen a Toucan walking on the ground in its natural state, much less acting the part of a swimming or wading bird.
The chief wears a headdress or cap made by fixing the breast-feathers of the Toucan on a web of Bromelia twine, with erect tail plumes of macaws rising from the crown.
Or a Toucan (Rhamphastos ariel) silently hopped or ran along and up the branches, peeping into chinks and crevices.
The relation between the extraordinarily lengthened bill of the Toucan and its mode of obtaining food, is therefore precisely similar to that between the long neck and lips of the Giraffe and the mode of browsing of the animal.
It is to these trees that the largest sort of toucan resorts.
The flight of the toucan is by jerks: in the action of flying it seems incommoded by this huge disproportioned feature, and the head seems as if bowed down to the earth by it against its will.
It can hardly be for the defensive, as the toucan is preyed upon by no bird in South America and, were it obliged to be at war, the texture of the bill is ill-adapted to give or receive blows, as you will see in dissecting it.
If a toucan be yelping in the neighbourhood, he drops it, and imitates him.
His beak is the colour of sulphur, but it fades in death, and requires the same operation as the bill of the toucan to make it keep its colours.
If the extraordinary form and size of the bill expose the toucan to ridicule, its colours make it amends.
All the toucanets feed on the same trees on which the toucan feeds, and every species of this family of enormous bill lays its eggs in the hollow trees.
Every now and then the maam or tinamou sends forth one long and plaintive whistle from the depth of the forest, and then stops; whilst the yelping of the toucan and the shrill voice of the bird called pi-pi-yo is heard during the interval.
While the cotingas attract your attention by their superior plumage, the singular form of the toucan makes a lasting impression on your memory.
Large as is the beak of the Toucan compared with the size of the body, it is in reality very light.
On the approach of any small bird the Toucan becomes highly excited, raises itself up, erects its feathers, and utters a hollow clattering sound, the irides of the eyes expand, and the Toucan is ready to dart on its prey.
The Toucan now placed the dead bird firmly between its foot and the perch, stripped off the feathers with its bill, and then broke the bones of the wings and legs, by strongly wrenching them, the bird being still secured by the Toucan's foot.
The Toucan seized it with the beak, and the poor little victim uttered a short weak cry, for within a second it was dead, killed by the powerful compression of the mandibles.
In the luxuriant forests of Brazil the Toucan may be heard rattling with his large hollow beak, as he sits on the outermost branches, calling in plaintive notes for rain.
Mr. Gould, in his grand Monograph of the Toucans, or Ramphastidae, remarks, that it was only within a few years of the time of Linnaeus that actual specimens of the Toucan had been received in Europe.
Again, the nests in which the Toucan finds its food are often very deep and dark, and its bill, covered with branches of nerves, enables the bird to feel its way as accurately as the finest and most delicate finger could.
While cotingas attract your attention by their superior plumage, the singular form of the toucan makes a lasting impression on your memory.
It can hardly be for the defensive, as the toucan is preyed upon by no bird in South America, and were it obliged to be at war, the texture of the bill is ill adapted to give or receive blows, as you will see in dissecting it.
Through the warm night air the hoarse croaking of distant frogs and the mournful note of the toucan floated to his ears.
The morose call of a toucan floated weirdly upon the heavy air.
It's such an easy thing to do, That even the Toucanhe can too.
The most beautiful species of the family is the Brazilian Toucan, described by Humboldt under the name of Yellow Toucan (Fig.
An immense beak is the first thing to attract attention to any member of the Toucan family.
Ossaroo could not tell what a toucan was, never having heard of such a bird.
His ornithological knowledge went no further than to the birds of Bengal; and the toucan is found only in America.
Illustration: "The Dowager Lady Toucan first cut in, &c.
I say, Nealie, what does the toucan want to have such a long bill for?
The cage next to the monkeys holds a more pleasant beast; a Toucan out of the primeval forest, as gorgeous in colour as he is ridiculous in shape.
At the approach of rain the macaws sent forth noisy cries, the toucan wanted to reach the shore to fish, and the little monkeys (the titis) went in search of Father Zea, to take shelter in the large sleeves of his Franciscan habit.
We purchased some fine specimens of the toucan alive; a courageous bird, the intelligence of which is developed like that of our domestic ravens.
The toucan resembles the raven in manners and intelligence.
I did not observe what has been related in some works of natural history, that the toucan is forced, from the structure of its beak, to swallow its food by throwing it up into the air.
The toucan we had bought was very young; yet it took delight, during the whole voyage, in teasing the cusicusis, or nocturnal monkeys, which are melancholy and irritable.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "toucan" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
