in the Order Imessores Heterogenes. 355 



each it has, of course, reference to the peculiar prey. Thus, 

 the bee-eater glides aloft, in pursuit of insects, which it crush- 

 es with its powerfully compressive beak, and so is enabled to 

 prey on the most venomous : the roller chases swift-running 

 lizards or mice, through all their abrupt turns and meander- 

 ings: the Dacelo traverses the most arid districts of New Hol- 

 land, in quest of snakes : the halcyons dart upon the larger 

 insects, which they seize in the manner of a fly-catcher; some 

 of the stronger species, it has been said, also preying on crus- 

 taceans : and the kingfisher whisks along over shallow water, 

 — is arrested instantaneously, in its most rapid flight, at sight 

 of a fish, — poises itself for a moment, — then plunges with im- 

 petuosity upon its victim, which it carries in its beak to a perch, 

 and beats it to death, by knocking it repeatedly, with violence, 

 against whatever it stands on, a habit which is likewise no- 

 ticeable in the roller : all of them gulp their prey without 

 dividing it, and disgorge the indigestible parts in pellets, 

 which in course of time accumulate in their holes, and form 

 the bed on which their eggs are deposited. Bechstein, who 

 kept rollers in confinement, expressly remarks that he never 

 saw them drink. The bee-eaters are, furthermore, social birds, 

 which breed in society, and range to immense distances in 

 quest of food : the rollers are ordinarily seen in pairs, or in 

 families : and the halcyons and kingfishers are birds of soli- 

 tary habit, of which those only which have bred are seen ac- 

 companied by their mates, the young remaining un associated 

 through the first winter. With a very few exceptions, the 

 distribution of all is confined to warm latitudes ; and the ex- 

 tensive kingfisher family [Haley onidce) only, is feebly repre- 

 sented in America by a few piscivorous species : all the re- 

 mainder being peculiar to the eastern hemisphere. 



When reared in captivity, these birds manifest little intel- 

 ligence, and do not appear to be capable of attachment to in- 

 dividuals : they can only be tamed, that is, rendered fearless, 

 but not familiar. A brood of kingfishers which I once raised, 

 were more active in the cage than I had anticipated, leaping 

 from perch to perch without difficulty, and sometimes for a 

 long while together : on a broad surface, they rested on the 

 entire length of the tarse ; and could advance only by short 

 waddling steps. Their expression of countenance strikingly 

 resembled that of the heron ; and they often raised the loose 

 occipital feathers. All their movements were accompanied 

 by a singular jerk of the head, as if troubled with the hiccoughs: 

 and they signified hunger by emitting sharply their cry, chwite. 

 I fed them entirely on raw meat, which they took from a pan of 

 water, invariably knocking each piece with much force against 



