Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/195

182 hours, in a state between sleeping and waking, his eyes for the most part closed, but opening on the slightest interruption. At such times he would allow himself to be handled, and would even take any favourite food that was offered him, without altering his position further than by a gentle turn of the head. He would also suffer his tail to be replaced by the hand in its natural downward posture, and would then immediately return it again to its vertical position. In these movements the tail seemed to turn as if on a hinge that was operated on by a spring. At the end of about two hours he began gradually to turn his bill over his right shoulder, and to nestle it among the feathers of his back, sometimes concealing it completely within the plumage, at other times leaving a slight portion of its upper edge exposed. At the same time he drooped the feathers of his wings and those of the thigh-coverts, so as to encompass the legs and feet, and thus nearly assuming the appearance of an oval ball of feathers, he secured himself against all exposure to cold.

The writer of this work had for some little time in his possession a specimen of the Keel-beaked Toucan (Rhamphastos carinatus, .), which he brought to England from Jamaica. The species is not, however, a native of the West Indian islands, but of the northern extremity of South America, whence this specimen was originally procured, and the southern provinces of Mexico. We do not recollect having ever observed the upturning of the tail during repose, spoken of in the two species above-noticed. It was in the highest health