MEXICAN MOT MOT. 



OT MOTS are peculiar to 

 the new world, being 

 found from Mexico 

 ^ ~i-i_~ \^ ^ throughout the whole 

 of Central America and the South 

 American continent. The general 

 plumage is green, and the majority of 

 the species have a large racket at the 

 end of the center tail feathers, formed 

 by the bird itself. 



The Houton, (so called from his 

 note,) -according to Waterson, ranks 

 high in beauty among the birds of 

 Demerara. This beautiful creature 

 seems to suppose that its beauty can 

 be increased by trimming its tail, 

 which undergoes the same operation 

 as one's hair in a barber shop, using 

 its own beak, which is serrated, in lieu 

 of a pair of scissors. As soon as its 

 tail is fully grown, he begins about 

 an inch from the extremity of the two 

 longest feathers in it and cuts away 

 the web on both sides of the shaft, 

 making a gap about an inch long. 

 Both male and female wear their tails 

 jn this manner, which gives them a 

 remarkable appearance among all other 

 birds. 



To observe this bird in his native 

 haunts, one must be in the forest at 

 dawn. He shuns the society of man. 

 The thick and gloomy forests are pre- 

 ferred by the Houton. In those far 

 extending wilds, about day-break, you 

 hear him call in distinct and melan- 

 cholv tone, " Houton, Houton! " An 



observer says, "Move cautiously to the 

 place from which the sound proceeds, 

 and you will see him sitting in the 

 underwood, about a couple of yards 

 from the ground, his tail moving up 

 and down every timt^ he articulates 

 " Houton! " 



The Mot Mot lives on insects and 

 berries found among the underwood, 

 and very rarely is seen in the lofty 

 trees. He makes no nest, but rears 

 his young in a hole in the sand, gen- 

 erally on the side of a hill. 



Mr. Osbert Salvin tells this curious 

 anecdote : " Some years ago the Zoo- 

 logical Society possessed a specimen 

 which lived in one of the large cages 

 of the parrot house by itself. I have 

 a very distinct recollection of the bird, 

 for I used every time I saw it to cheer 

 it up a bit by whistling such of its 

 notes as I had picked up in the forests 

 of America. The bird always seemed 

 to appreciate this attention, for 

 although it never replied, it became at 

 once animated, hopped about the cage, 

 and swung its tail from side to side 

 like the pendulum of a clock. For a 

 long time its tail had perfect spatules, 

 but toward the end of its life I noticed 

 that the median feathers were no longer 

 trimmed with such precision, and on 

 looking at its beak I noticed that from 

 some cause or other it did not close 

 properly, gaped slightly at the tip, and 

 had thus become unfitted for removing 

 the vanes of the feathers " 



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