322 Sir W. Jardine on the Habits of Prionites. 
and from the other scattered information which we possess, the 
favourite haunts of the Motmots are known to be the depths 
of retired forests generally near the vicinity of water; they 
are solitary, or live in pairs only, utter a monotonous often re- 
peated note, breed in holes in the banks of ravines or in hol- 
low trees, and live upon insects, reptiles, small or young birds, 
and fruits or berries; and as we learn from the notes of our 
correspondent, they occasionally also search for their food 
upon the ground. 
The Motmots seem to be confined chiefly to the northern 
half of the southern continent of America, one at least, as its 
name implies, extending into the Mexican provinces; it is 
probable also that the different species are local or restricted 
nately for a long time, till they tired them, caught them and killed them 
with strokes as they treated the meat. ‘They continued this even after the 
birds were dead, till they had completely swallowed them, beginning at the 
head, and not hesitating at the feathers; they did the same with mice, but 
did not care for rather larger birds, which they could not swallow; whence 
it may be inferred that they would do as much damage to nests as the Tou- 
cans, which they resemble in other points.”—Apuntamientos de Azara, 
tom. i. 243. Num. LII. Del Tutu. 
“The Houtow shuns the society of man. The plantations and cultivated 
parts are too much disturbed to engage it to settle there; the thick and 
gloomy forests are the places preferred by the solitary Houtou. In those 
far-extending wilds, about day-break, you hear him articulate in a distinct 
and mournful tone, ‘ Houtou, Houtou.’ Move cautiously to where the sound 
proceeds from, and you will see him sitting in the underwood, about a 
couple of yards from the ground, his tail moving up and down every time 
he articulates ‘ Houtou.’ He lives on insects and the berries amongst the 
underwood, and very rarely is seen in the lofty trees, except the bastard 
Liloabali tree ; the fruit of which is grateful to him. He makes no nest, 
but rears his young in a hole in the sand, generally on the side of a hill.” — 
Waterton’s Wanderings, p. 127. 
‘‘The Motmots, so named from their monotonous note, live only in the 
tropical forests of the New World, preferring those deep recesses of per- 
petual shade, where a high canopy of matted foliage nearly excludes the rays 
of a vertical sun. They appear even more solitary in their disposition than 
the Zrogons; their note may be heard morning and evening, from the 
depths of the forests, but the bird is never seen, unless the hunter comes 
unexpectedly upon its retreat. ‘This we have generally found to be a low 
withered branch, completely shaded, and just at the edge of such paths as 
are made by the Cavies or the Indians. The Jacamas and the Trogons both 
love these shady nooks, where they sit motionless, watching for parsing in- 
sects, on which they dart. Such is no doubt the manner in which the Mot- 
mot feeds, but his strong conformation enables him to capture Jarger game.” 
—Swains. Zool. Illust. 2nd Series, descrip. of P. Martii. 
“The Motmot is solitary, hiding in the deep shades of the forest, and, 
like other air-feeding birds, is always found sitting nearly motionless.”— 
‘While its fissirostral habit of catching its food upon the wing, and the 
discovery of the broad-billed species (P. platyrhynchus), seem to us a con- 
clusive argument for placing this genus in the Fissirostral order.” —Swains. 
Nat. Hist. and Classification of Birds, ii. p. 141. 
