72 PASSERES. TODIDvE. 



weather skimming patiently along the sea in search 

 of insects, evidently ignorant of the fact that they 

 are confined to fresh water, and do not sport on the 

 surface of salt waters." I cannot agree, however, 

 with this accomplished naturalist here : that the 

 Swallows do occasionally skim over the sea, is 

 undeniable ; and that gnats and other minute insects 

 are also in the habit of frequenting the salt water, 

 though not in such numbers as over the fresh ponds 

 and rivers, is no less certain, at least in Jamaica. 



FAM. TODID^. (The Todits.) 



GREEN TODY." 



Todiis viridis. 



Todus viridis, LINN. Nat. Lib. (Flyc.) vign. 



? Todus multicolor, LAFRBSN. 



IN all parts of Jamaica that I have visited, the 

 Tody is a very common bird. On the summit of 



* Length 4| inches, expanse 6, tail l^j, flexure 1-^, rictus , tar- 

 sus -5^, middle toe ^. 



Irides very pale grey ; pupils very large ; beak above horny red, be- 

 neath pale crimson ; legs and feet reddish brown ; sometimes flesh-co- 

 lour, or purplish-horn. The sexes exactly alike. 



I doubt much if Todus multicolor of Lafresnaye, figured in D'Orbig- 

 ny's Birds of Cuba, is specifically different from this ; the slight dis- 

 tinctions of hue being scarcely more than variations which I have found 

 in Jamaican specimens ; some of which, in my possession, display the 

 pale blue on the sides of the throat, and the orange on the flanks. 



