466 Descriptions and Habits of 



Male, Head, neck, cheeks, breast, belly, rump, tertiaries, 

 and nearly the whole length of the two outer tail feathers, and 

 the lower part of the third, and sometimes a stripe on the 

 fourth, bright chrome yellow ; face, throat, primaries, seconda- 

 ries, back, and four, sometimes six, tail feathers, black ; legs 

 bluish ; bill black, except base of lower mandible, which is 

 bluish ; iris hazel. 



Total length 9J inches ; tarsus 1 iV inches ; bill A of an 

 inch along gape, J along ridge ; tail 4s inches long, consists 

 of twelve feathers. 



Female. Marked like male, but not so brilliant. 



Total length 8J inches. 



MOMOTUS YUCATACENSIS. Black-throated Motmot. Nobis. 



This strikinc; and beautiful bird was found throucrhout 

 Yucatan, particularly about the ruined buildings. They ap- 

 pear to be of solitary iiabits. Although numbers of tiieni 

 were fre(jucntly seen near each otlier, yet it did not appear 

 to be from gregarious habits, but from the locality being 

 favorable to them. They generally, during the bright part 

 of the day, if undisturbed, keep in dark places, as in the 

 rooms of the ancient buildings, or in the thick underbrush of 

 the overgrown court-yards, and do not appear to see well in a 

 bright light. So much is this the case, that I caught one in 

 my hand, which appeared to be bewildered by the light. 

 Early in the morning, and in the dusk of the evening, they 

 appear quite brisk, and at their case. We found them in 

 great numbers about the ruins of Chichen Itza, the halls of 

 whose palaces and temples resounded continually to the mel- 

 ancholy croak of this strange bird. As one listens to it, and 

 sees the bird perched on some branch in one of the dark, 

 deserted court-yards, with its head drawn in, its tail drooping, 

 its plumage ruffled, and its large dark eye fixed upon him, 

 with a solemn, still expression, he might imagine it to be ani- 

 mated by the spirit of one of the Maya priests, who had come 

 there to mourn over the ruined temples and desecrated altars. 



Male, Bill and legs nearly black ; eyes hazel ; top of liead^ 



