156 



THE BRAZILIAN MOTMOT. 



The colouring of its plumage is rather handsome, although quaint and peculiar. The 

 general tint of the upper parts of the body is dead black, and that of the abdomen and 

 lower parts a dark red. Around the throat runs a broad belt of stiff, wiry feathers of a 

 red hue, which point upward on each side, and are probalsly intended for the purpose of 

 defending the eyes. At each side of the bill there are several similar stiff bristly hairs, 

 which also point i[pward. The scapularies are long and sharp in form, and their colour is 

 a beautifully pure wliite, contrasting strongly with the deep black of the upper part of the 



body. At the upper angle of 

 each wing there is a well-detined 

 orange line and a white spot on 

 the inside. The wedge-shaped tail 

 is black, the thigh is blackish- 

 brown, and the legs are brown. 

 The colour of the eyes is blue, 

 which changes to green soon after 

 death and then fades wholly into 

 didness. 



By the natives the bird is 

 called Biirong-palano, or Tam- 

 palano. Several other species 

 of Eurylaimus are known to 

 science, all of them being liand- 

 some and remarkable birds. 

 Tlie Great Eurylaimus {Eury- 

 laimus Cory don), for example, 

 is notable for the great width of 

 the beak, its bright rosy hue, its 

 hooked form, and the very wide 

 gape of the mouth. The plumage 

 too is coloured in a veiy bold and 

 strilving manner. The general 

 hue is jet black, relieved by a 

 large white mark on the middle 

 of the wing, another at the 

 extremity of the tail, and a 

 small scarlet patch of elon- 

 gated feathers in the centre of 

 the back. As a general rule, 

 the birds of this group adhere 

 to the above-mentioned colours, 

 but there is a curious and no- 

 table exception in the person 

 of the Dalhousie's Eurylainuis 

 {Psarisomus Dalhoustai), whose 

 plumage is tinted witli blue, 

 green, and yellow, after the man- 

 ner of many paroquets. Indeed, 

 the general aspect of the bird 

 irresistibly reminds the observer 

 of a paroquet, and the semblance 

 is farther increased by its long azure tail feathers. 



BRAZILIAN MOTMOT.— JI«mo( us Braziliensis. 



The MoTMOTS, so called from their monotonous cry, which is thought to resemble the 

 syllables mot-mot, continually repeated, are inhabitants of tropical America and the adjacent 

 parts of tlie world. There are several species of these curious and beautiful birds ; but as 

 their habits and form are very similar, they can be sufficiently represented by a single 



