-papular Birttanarn nf &m'matrtt Mature. 691 



end, and has a gape extending as far back 

 as the eyes. They are birds of gaudy plu- 

 mage and rapid flight ; and they feed on 

 insects, worms, small reptiles, &c. The most 

 elegant species is the KOYAL or KING Toor 

 (Onychorhynrhvt or Twins reifius), described 

 by Button, who considered it as belonging 

 to the Mitscicapidce or Flycatchers. IU bill 

 is somewhat disproportionably broad, very 

 much flattened, and beset with numerous 

 strong bristles at the base : the colour of the 

 plumage on the upper parts is a deep yel- 

 lowish brown or chestnut, passing round the 

 fore part of the neck like a collar : the throat, 

 and all the under parts, are whitish yellow, 

 the breast being crossed by numerous dusky 

 undulations : the tail is bright ferruginous ; 

 and on the head is a most beautiful, broad, 

 transverse crest, consisting of very numerous 

 feathers, disposed in several series, lengthen- 

 ing as they recede from the front or base. 

 These feathers are of a bright or red-ferrugi- 

 nous colour, and are each terminated by a 

 black tip, so that the crest resembles that of 

 a Hoopoe, placed in a transverse direction. 

 Over each eye is a narrow white streak ; the 

 bill is dark brown ; and the legs flesh-colour. 

 This curious bird is a native of Cayenne 

 and Brazil. 



GREEK TODT. (Todtu viridto.) This ele- 

 gant little bird is about the size of a Wren, 

 and has a bill long, like that of a Kingfisher, 

 and ridged along the top of the upper man- 

 dible, which is of a dusky brown, the lower 

 being of an orange or yellow colour; at the 

 base of the bill are several stiff black hairs 

 or bristles, standing forwards. The whole 

 upper side of the bird is of a fine vivid green ; 

 the inner coverts of the wings are white ; the 

 inside of the quills and the under side of the 

 tail are of a brownish- ash colour ; and a 

 few of the prime quills are black at their 

 tips : the throat is of a very fine red ; the 

 breast, belly, thighs, and covert feathers 

 under the tail arc white, a little shaded with 

 pale green : the legs and feet are dusky ; 

 and the toes are united, as in the King- 

 fisher. 



. Mr. Gosse tells us, that in all parts of 

 Jamaica which he visited, the Tody is a 



1 very common bird. On the summit of Blue- 

 fields mountain, about three thousand feet 

 from the level of the sea, and particularly 

 where the deserted provision-grounds are 

 overgrown with thicket, almost impene- 

 trable, of jointer, or joint-wood (Piper geni- 

 riilntnm\it is especially abundant. Always 

 conspicuous from its bright grass-green coat 

 and crimson velvet gorget, it is still a very 

 tame bird ; yet this seems rather the tame- 

 ness of indifference than of confidence ; it 

 will allow a person to approach very near, 

 and, if disturbed, alight on another twig a 

 few yards distant. It hops about the twigs 

 of low trees, searching for minute insects, 

 occasionally uttering a querulous, sibilant 

 note : but more commonly it is seen sitting 

 patiently on a twig, with the head drawn 

 in, the beak pointing upwards, the loose 

 plumage puffed out, when it appears much 

 larger than it is. It certainly has an air of 

 stupidity when thus seen. But this ab- 



straction is more apparent than real i if we 

 watch it, we shall see that the odd-looking 

 gray eyes are glancing hither and thither, 

 ind that, ever and anon, the bird sallies out 

 upon a short feeble flight, snaps at something 

 "11 the air, and returns to his twig to swallow 

 t. The following details are so pleasingly 

 characteristic of the bird's habits, that we 

 cannot refrain from making the extract : 

 " One captured with a net in April, on being 

 turned into a room, began immediately to 

 catch flies, and other minute insects that 

 flitted about, particularly little destructive 

 Tineadce that infested my dried birds. At 

 this employment he continued incessantly, 

 and most successfully, all that evening, and 

 all the next day from earliest dawn till 

 dusk. He would sit on the edge of the 

 tables, on the lines, on shelves, or on the 

 floor, ever glancing about, now and then 

 flitting up into the air, when the snap of his 

 beak announced a capture, and he returned 

 to some station to eat it. He would peep 

 into the lowest and darkest corners, even 

 under the tables, for the little globose, long- 

 legged spiders, which he would drag from 

 their webs, and swallow. He sought also 

 about the ceiling and walls, and found very 

 many. I have said that he continued all 

 day at this employment without intermis- 

 sion, and though I took no account, I judged 

 that, on an average, he made a capture per 

 minute. We may thus form some idea of 

 the immense number of insects destroyed 

 by these and similar birds ; bearing in mind 

 t this was in a room, where the human 

 eye scarcely recognized a dozen insects alto- 

 gether ; and that in the free air insects would 

 be much more numerous. Water in a basin 

 was in the room, but I did not see him 

 drink, though occasionally he perched on 

 the brim ; and when I inserted his beak 

 into the water, he would not drink. Though 

 so actively engaged in his own occupation, 

 he cared nothing for the presence of man ; 

 he sometimes alighted voluntarily on our 

 heads, shoulders, or fingers ; and when sit- 

 ting, would permit me at any time to put 

 my hand over him and take him up ; though 

 when in the hand he would struggle to get 

 out. He seemed likely to thrive, but in- 

 cautiously settling in front of a dove cage, 

 a surly Baldpate poked his head through 

 the wires, and with his beak aimed a cruel 

 blow at the pretty green head of the unof- 

 fending and unsuspecting Tody. He ap- 

 peared not to mind it at first, but did not 

 again fly ; and about an hour afterward, 

 on my taking him into my hand, and throw- 

 ing him up, he could only flutter to the 

 ground, and on laying him on the table, he 

 stretched out his little feet, shivered, and 

 died." 



The Green Tody is exclusively an insect 

 feeder, and burrows in the earth to breed. 

 The bonks of ravines, and the scarps of dry 

 ditches, are excavated by its feeble feet, in 

 which two out of three of its front toes aru 

 united together, having only the terminal 

 joint free, and hence the feet of this kind of 

 birds are called tyadactylous. The hole runs 

 into the banks some eight inches or a foot : 

 at the extremity of this subterranean lodging 



