[Three Hundred Animals Contents]
IS a native of South America, very conspicuous for the bigness and shape of his bill. He is about the size of the magpie, but his beak is alone nearly as big as the rest of the body; the head is large and strong, and the neck short, in order the more easily to support the bulk of such a beak. The head, neck, and wings, are black; the breast shines with a most lovely saffron colour, with a certain redness near the beginning; the belly and thigh with a most beautiful vermillion; the tail is black, but of a bright red at the end. The monkies are his sworn enemies; they often attack his nest, but Providence has allotted him a head and a beak of such a bigness, as to fill up the whole entrance of his habitation, and when the plunderer approaches, the Toucan gives him such a welcome, that the monkey is glad to run away. So this monstrous bill, according to the wisdom of Providence, when seen peeping out of the nest, makes other animals suppose, that a much bigger and more powerful bird inhabits the well-guarded mansion.