130 



KINGFISHERS. 



The wings and back are darker than the head, and cov- 

 ered with a number of small black bars. The tail is 

 chestnut and barred with black. 



THE WHITE-FACED BAKBET is not so handsome a 

 bird, being more sombre in its clothing than the collared 

 Barbet. The general color of this bird is black, and the 

 forehead and face are white, together with the chin. In 

 size it is about equal to our common starling. It is also 

 a native of Southern America. This bird has been chosen 

 as a representative of the genus Monasa, a small group 

 of birds which has been separated from the other Barbets 

 on account of the form of the beak and the structure of 

 the wing. 



THE last example of these curious birds is the 

 WHITE-BACKED BARBET, which serves to represent the 

 genus Chelidoptera. This is a much smaller bird than 

 either of the preceding examples, but is notable on 

 account of the curious manner in which its plumage is 

 diversified with black and white. The general tint of 

 the body is sooty black, but upon the back there is a 

 conspicuous patch of white, and a considerable amount 

 of white is scattered over the middle of the wings, and 

 upon the under tail-coverts. It is also a native of South- 

 ern America. 



So highly gifted are these birds with that quality which is called "adhesiveness" by 

 phrenologists, that when they have once selected a twig as a resting-place, they will remain 

 faithful to their choice, and for month after month may be seen sitting on the identical perch, 

 lethargic and happy. They are solitary birds, never being seen in flocks, and very seldom in 

 pairs, residing always in the murkiest recesses of the deep forests, in preference to the open 

 country, and sitting on their low perch in spots which the foot of man seldom penetrates. 



COLLAKED BARBET. Bucco coliaiif. 



KINGFISHERS. 



THE KINGFISHERS form a tolerably well-marked group of birds, all of which are remark- 

 able for the length of the bills and the comparative shortness of their bodies, which gives them 

 a peculiar bearing that is not to be mistaken. 



The bills of these birds are all long and sharp, and in most cases are straight. Their front 

 toes are always joined together more or less, and the number of the toes is very variable in 

 form and arrangement ; some species possessing them in pfiirs, like those of the parrots, others 

 having them arranged three in front and one behind, as is usually the case with birds, while a 

 few species have only three toes altogether, two in front and one behind. The wings are 

 rounded. As may be gathered from their popular name, they mostly feed upon fish, which 

 they capture by pouncing upon the finny prey ; although in some instances, such as that with 

 which we shall commence our history, they make the greatest part of their diet of insects and 

 crustaceans. In color they are very variable, some being comparatively dull in tint, possessing 

 no colors but black, brown, and white, while others are decorated with the most brilliant 

 plumage, which nearly equals that of the trogons in gorgeousness of hue, although the colors 

 are not distributed in such large masses, nor are the feathers so exquisitely soft and downy. 



