JACAMARS. 



231 



Sub -Family IV. 

 THE JACAMARS. GALBULIN.^. 



General Characteristics.— Bill long, slender, straight, or slightly curved and 

 acute ; tail long and graduated ; tarsi short ; toes either arranged in two pairs or 

 two toes in front and one behind, the anterior toes united. 



These birds, remarkable for their brilHant plumage, inhabit the 

 tropical parts of the western hemisphere. They are met with 

 most numerously in Brazil and Guiana, where they live in the 



Fig. 122.— The Red-tailed Jacamar {Galbnla rufi 



penetralia of the forest and pass their lives in solitude. They 

 are all of moderate size, and feed entirely upon insects, which 

 they pursue by short and rapid flights. Their eggs are deposited 

 in hollow trees. 



The typical species — 



The Red-tailed Jacamar {Galbula ruficauda), inhabits South Arr.erica, 



