148 Tlic Birds of British Guiana. 



sioiKi.lly on fisli. The former are ex])ert fishers and have thus 

 ,i,n\-en llie name to the Vvhole tril)e. Sitting- sohtary and motion- 

 less for a loni;- time hy the side oi a ])ool or trench they may be 

 seen suddenly to dart like an arrow intt) the water and seldom 

 do they fail to hrin^ u() a strui^'t^iini;- victim. The feet are ex- 

 ceediui^ly small for the size of the bird and are zysrodactylous: 

 the short scarlet tons^ue is shaped like an arrow-head. They 

 lav their j^iohular. shinini;- white e.iji^s in holes of trees or 

 banks of streams. /Vccordini;- to le.i^end. Zeus changed Ceyx 

 and Alcyone into Kingfishers, while the father of Alcyone 

 calmed the weather while they formed their floating nest upon 

 the (K'ean ! Their note is generally nothing more than tcit-tcit. 

 or iit-it\ but in some species, a loud derisive laugh. There are 

 in all, twenty genera and some two hundred species, of which 

 ele\en only belong to the Xew World. 



M(^T-M()T.s. — Closely related to Kingfishers and the Rol- 

 lers of the ( )ld World, are the Mot-Mots, all twenty-four 

 species of which belong to the Neotropical regions. The Hou- 

 touli of this colony is a good example. In habits they resemble 

 the Wood-Kingfishers, feeding on insects, lizards, etc., and 

 also fruit. The feathers are loose and often beautiful in col- 

 our, green or greenish red prevailing. The Houtouli and some 

 other species nibl^le off the wanes from the long tail feathers. 

 luaking them raquet-like. The legs are short and the feet small : 

 and, unlike Kingfishers, they have three toes in front; their 

 tongue is a long fiat bristle; the beak is serrated. They lay 

 their eggs in the holes of trees or banks. Their cry is a muffled 

 note, something like: mot. niot-juot-mot . iiiot-)}iot. and some 

 times, very loud, like the muffled bark of a dog. They are by 

 no means shy, but this may l)e due to a want of intelligence. 

 KixcKisiiF.RS — (Colonial ). .Mcidiniiiac. 



Collared Kinj^fisher Ccryle torqitata. 



Belted ., .. alcyon. 



Amazonian ,. .. a)uazona. 



White-and-Grecn Kingfisher .. amcricana. 



Rufou.s-and-Green Kino^fisher. .. imhi. 



Pigmy King-fisher (eyc-browed 1 .. siipcrciliosa. 



t Dappled-winged Kingfisher (?) . s'lctoptcra. 



The Houtouli Moinotits )uo»wtiis (or motmota). 



J.'\c.\.M.\RS. — These birds greatly resemble Kingfishers in 



outward appearance and in their mode of catching their prey. 



