^^9'-l Scott on the Birds of Jamaica. 373 



129. Ceryle alcyon Linn. — Occurs commonly in Kingston harbor 

 during the winter months. Individuals remain certainly until late in 

 April. 



130. Todus viridis {Linn.}. — The Green Tody, or 'Robin' as it is fa- 

 miliarly called, appears to be very generally dispersed throughout the 

 island and may even be said to be common in most parts. In all localities 

 tiiat I have visited, whether on the mountains at high elevations or 

 among the woods of the plains, it has appeared equally abundant at all 

 seasons. Banks of ravines and gullies, where the fringing forest is of 

 dense and varied, but slender, growth, hedges with deep banks, woods and 

 thickets bordering many roadways, and especially the steep, narrow bridle 

 paths that wind up the mountain sides, where the banks are high, may be 

 mentioned as some favored haunts. But of all localities there are few 

 perhaps where these birds occur constantly in such numbers, or which 

 offer more perfect situations for nesting than the gullies before men- 

 tioned. Manj' of these dry water-courses, that during prolonged rains 

 become transformed into rushing, impassable torrents, are of considerable 

 extent, and their sandy beds may be traced for miles inland. One gully 

 in particular, where most of mv observations on the habits of the Todies 

 have been made, has a wide and tortuous course and banks that vary in 

 places from low weed-covered mounds, to precipitous cliffs of clay between 

 ten and twenty feet in height. In their choice of a situation for nesting, 

 the birds are somewhat particular, preference being given to low, over- 

 hanging, weed-covered banks where the soil is light and friable. The 

 tunnels are rarely, if ever, in high situations, but on the contrary may fre- 

 quently be found at the sides of the shallow ditches and hollows that are 

 commonly formed in soft soil during heavy rains. I have often surprised 

 the Todies at work. In beginning a tunnel they cling in an awkward 

 manner to the face of the cliff or bank, fluttering the wings frequently as 

 if for support. So far as I have been able to observe, in digging they 

 appear to employ the beak only, and I once took a Tody that had almost 

 the entire half or side of the upper mandible worn away; this, however, 

 was during a period of drought, when all vegetation was burnt and 

 shrivelled, and the earth hard and unyielding. In most cases the whole 

 work of excavation would seem to be performed by the birds, yet, I have 

 noticed (in the gullies at least) that those portions of the banks usually 

 selected for nesting are nearly always riddled with holes and cavities of 

 different depths. Whether the birds ever take possession of one of these, 

 or enlarge others to suit their needs, I have not discovered, but such a 

 proceeding would seem highly probable in view of the labor which the 

 work of excavation frequently entails. When digging into some of these 

 holes in a search for the true nest of a Tody, I often find them in the occu- 

 pation of strange tenants, such as field mice, lizards and spiders; the 

 latter, black repulsive looking objects, are of common occurrence, espe- 

 cially in the depressions formed by the falling away of stones, etc. ; so that 

 some little caution is necessary in prosecuting a search for the eggs of the 



