149 



TODUS, 



as now defined, with but one exception, are exclu- 

 sively restricted to the tropical latitudes of America ; 

 they are all very small birds, the largest not being 

 equal to a robin, while the smallest is more diminu- 

 tive than the gold-crest. The whole group is re- 

 markable for three peculiarities: 1. the excessive 

 shortness of the wings and tail ; 2. the great com- 

 parative length and feebleness of the tarsi; and, 

 lastly, the elongated boat-shaped form of the bill. 

 Of these the first is the most universal ; and when 

 we compare these characters with those belonging to 

 the same members in the birds of the genus Musci- 

 capa, we can have no doubt of their being employed 

 in a very different manner. This brings with it 

 the inference, that the todies do not seize their prey 

 in the same manner as the flycatchers. Upon this 

 point, in the absence of better information, we can 

 say something from personal knowledge. Whenever 

 we observed the black- capped tody in the woods of 

 Brazil, where it is by no means scarce, we always 

 found it hopping among the branches and the foliage 

 of trees, pursuing its search to the extreme twig, 

 much in the same way as our torn-tits. If its ap- 



