MOMOTUS. 455 
p. 429) Salvin gave an account of this curious practice on the part of Motmots, with 
the evidence then forthcoming on the subject. Since then Mr. Cherrie has, as quoted 
below, watched young of Momotus lessoni in confinement performing the operation ; 
so that there can be no further doubt on the subject. Instances in which the process 
is neglected or imperfectly executed often occur in individuals of the same species, so 
that the use of the character in a generic sense cannot be entertained. 
Southern Mexico and Central America is the metropolis of the Momotide; all the 
genera are found within these limits, and three of them, Humomota, Aspatha, and 
Hylomanes, do not occur elsewhere. 
Dr. Gaumer, who during his long residence in Northern Yucatan had constant 
opportunity of studying the habits of the Motmots of that region, has published some 
interesting notes on them (Trans. Kansas Ac. Se. vill. p. 63). After giving various 
native accounts of the way the birds acquire the spatules to the tail, which we need 
not repeat here, he goes on to say: “‘ The Momotide all live beneath the surface of the 
earth ; some in the deserted dens of the Armadillo and other burrowing quadrupeds ; 
some live in caves, some in the crevices of the rocks and cliffs, while others take up 
their abode near the homes of men, living in their wells and ‘senotes.’ Their food 
consists of small frogs, worms, and other things which their subterranean abodes furnish 
them, with a few insects which they catch on the wing. They are seldom seen in bad 
weather, early in the morning, in the heat of the day, and never at night. This 
exclusion from light, and exposure to perpetual moisture, gives them a loose, pale flesh 
and almost colourless blood, and soft muscles, thus rendering them very lazy and stupid, 
though they sometimes retreat very quickly when the hunter tries to get a shot at them. 
The nests are made in some secluded corner of their underground homes. They consist 
of sticks and mud, or grass and mud, and are seldom large enough for the bare shafts 
of the tail-feathers to rest upon the rim; nor would this account for the mutilation of 
the feathers even were the conditions of the nest favourable, for the web of the feather 
is arranged laterally upon the shaft, and a vertical motion would be required to wear it 
away, whereas the movement of the tail is from side to side. Some of the Momotide 
are very tame, and seem to have no fear of man, but rather to prefer his company, 
making their nests in his wells and his cellars... . . ” Dr. Gaumer’s further remarks 
relate chiefly to Humomota superciliaris, and will be found under the account of 
that species. 
MOMOTUS. 
Momotus, Brisson, Orn. iv. p. 465 (1760); Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xvii. p. 318. 
Prionites, Illiger, Prodr. p. 224 (1811). 
Momotus is the most widely distributed genus of the family and contains the largest 
number of species. Its range extends from North-eastern Mexico and the southern 
side of the lower Rio Grande Valley to Eastern and Southern Brazil. The species of 
