118 BRITISH BIRDS 5 EGGS. 



mage is brilliant, and its size greatly exceeds that of oar 

 native species. Its nest, of sticks and feathers, is placed in 

 a cavity at the end of a gallery, sometimes four or five feet 

 in extent, dug by the bird itself in the clayey or sandy and 

 perpendicular bank of a stream. Its eggs are five in num- 

 ber, and white. 



TODID^E. TODIES. 



These are small American birds, resembling the King- 

 fishers in their general form, but they have no representa- 

 tive in our British list. 



TENUIROSTRES. SLENDER-BILLED BIRDS. 



The fourth and last group in the Insessorial Order con- 

 sists of the Tenuirostres, or Slender-billed Birds, and in it 

 are contained some of the most exquisite forms and glowing 

 colours to be found throughout the feathered race ; these 

 however are peculiar to foreign regions and warmer climes. 

 The representative of this group which we possess, although 

 a handsome bird, is not to be compared with those gorgeous 

 species which inhabit other lands. The families comprised 



