Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/361

 which tends to link the two families together; the superior length of the Toucan's bill gives it an advantage over the Barbet, with its small, conical beak; it can reach and devour immense quantities of fruit whilst remaining seated, and thus its heavy body and gluttonous appetite form no obstacles to the prosperity of the species. It is worthy of note, that the young of the Toucan has a very much smaller beak than the full-grown bird. The relation between the extraordinarily lengthened bill of the Toucan and its mode of obtaining food, is precisely similar to that between the long neck and lips of the Giraffe and the mode of browsing of the animal. The bill of the Toucan can scarcely be considered a very perfectly-formed instrument for the end to which it is applied, as here explained; but nature appears not to shape organs at once for the functions to which they are now adapted, but avails herself, here of one already-existing structure or instinct, there of another, according as they are handy when need for their further modification arises.

One day, whilst walking along the principal pathway in the woods near Ega, I saw one of these Toucans seated gravely on a low branch close to the road, and had no difficulty in seizing it with my hand. It turned out to be a runaway pet bird; no one, however, came to own it, although I kept it in my house for several months. The bird was in a half-starved and sickly condition, but after a few days of good living it recovered health and spirits, and became one of the most amusing pets imaginable. Many excellent accounts of the habits of tame Toucans, have been published, and