THE MADAGASCAE BRACHYPTERACIAS. 



153 



carnivorous in its habits, for, according to Temminck, it sometimes feeds on the smaller 

 mammalia. Worms, slugs, millipedes, and similar creatures also fall victims to its 

 voracity. 



The position and structure of the nest is remarkably variable. Generally it is placed 

 in the hollows of decaying trees, but it is often found deposited in the extremity of a hole 

 which has been burrowed in a river-bank, like that of the common kingfisher of England. 

 The eggs are of a beautiful shining white in colour, and from five to seven in number. 

 Nests of the Roller have been found in many portions of Europe and Africa, as well as 

 in Malta and Japan, so that the species possesses a very extensive range of country. 



In the colouring of its plumage it is truly a gorgeous bird. In its size and general 

 shape, the Roller bears a considerable semblance to the rooks and crows, and like these 

 noisy birds it is gifted with a harsh and loud voice, which it is very fond of raising, and 

 which often leads to its detection as it sits hidden among the deep foliage of the oak and 

 birch forests, which it best loves to inhabit. In allusion to its fondness for the birch-tree, 

 it is known in Germany by the 

 title of Birkh^ter, or Birch-jay. 

 In its habits it is fond of seclusion, 

 shy, wary, and restless, so that it 

 is not easily approached by the 

 .sportsman. 



One of myfriends, while residing 

 in Worcestersliire, saw frequently 

 some "tumbling" birds, which, 

 from the description, I cannot but 

 think to have been Rollers. They 

 always tuml:)led when on the ascent, 

 and never while descending. Tlie 

 colours described were precisely 

 those of the Roller — and the size 

 and general mode of flight ac- 

 corded with that bird — almost 

 equalling the kingfisher in the 

 brilliancy of its hues. The 

 general tint of the head, neck, 

 breast, and abdomen is that pe- 

 culiar green-blue termed "verdi- 

 ter" by artists, changing into 

 pale green in certain lights, and 

 deepening into deep rich azure 

 upon the shoulders. The back is 



a warm chestnut-brown, changing to purple upon the upper tail-coverts. The tail is of 

 the same verditer hue as the head and neck, with the exception of the exterior feathers, 

 which are furnished with black tips. The quill feathers of the wings are of a dark 

 blue-black, becoming lighter at their edges, and the legs are covered witli chestnut-brown 

 feathers like those of the back. These gorgeous hues are not attained until the bird 

 has passed through the moult of its second year. Both male and female are nearly 

 equally decorated, the latter being slightly less brilliant than her mate. It is not a very 

 large bu-d, scarcely exceeding a foot in total length. 



M.\DAG.VSCAE liRACllXeiERAClAS.—Bnidiijpknmitstejjtusiiimis. 



There are many examples of the group wliich is gathered together under the general 

 title of EoUers, the last of which is the Brachyptekacias, a bird which is remarkable, as 

 its name imports, for the shortness of its wings. 



In colour it is rather a handsome bird, although it suffers somewhat from the proximity 

 of its more brilliant relatives. The upper parts are a warm chestnut-brown, with a gTeen 

 gloss upon the shoulder. The wings are brown also, glossed with sheeny green, and 

 marked with a number of black spots edged with white. The under parts are greyish 



