Motmots and Todies 485 



near where the female is incubating, uttering a single rack, rack-kaak, until he 

 attains a considerable altitude, from whence he suddenly falls, always turning 

 a somersault, and throwing himself here and there in the air, uttering quickly 

 the notes rah, rarah, rrha-rra, etc., which he always changes to the rack directly 

 he begins to turn his somersault, and then returns to his seat on a dead branch." 

 During the nesting season this bird appears to prefer open woods and groves 

 in a sandy district, and places the nest in a hole in a tree, wall, bank, or under 

 the eaves of a house. The eggs number four or five and are pure white. Of the 

 species found in India we may mention the Indian Roller (C. indicus), which 

 Mr. Blanford says is one of the typical Indian birds, familiar to all the inhabitants 

 of the country. It is commonly found in cultivated tracts, on trees about villages, 

 and in thin tree- and bush-jungle. According to Jerdon, " it /generally takes 

 its perch on the top or topmost branch of some tall tree, and, on spying an insect 

 on the ground, which it can do at a very great distance, it flies direct to the spot, 

 seizes it, and returns to its perch to swallow it. When seated it puffs out the 

 feathers of its head and neck." It feeds on insects, such as grasshoppers, .crickets, 

 etc. Its nesting habits are similar to those of the other species. 



Broad-billed Rollers. The final genus to be considered embraces the Broad- 

 billed Rollers (Eurystomus\ which are distinguished by the very short, broad 

 bill and long, rather pointed wings. They range over the whole of tropical 

 Africa and Madagascar, as well as India, China, through the Burmese countries 

 to Manchuria and south through the Malay Archipelago to Australia. The 

 Indian Broad-billed Roller (E. orientalis] is one of the smaller members of the 

 group measuring only about ten and a half inches. It is largely greenish 

 blue, darker on the head, and having the quills and tail black. "It is a forest 

 bird," says Blanford, "haunting high trees, and usually perching on a dead tree 

 or branch', sometimes on a bamboo, whence it flies down to capture insects. 

 It is somewhat crepuscular in its habits and is generally silent. It breeds in 

 March and April, in holes in branches of trees, as a rule at considerable height 

 from the ground, and lays on the bare wood usually three white eggs." 



(Family Momotidtz) 



The second family comprises a small group of interesting birds confined 

 exclusively to the New World and closely allied to the Rollers and Kingfishers, 

 but also suggesting in some respects the Bee-eaters. They are disposed in two 

 subfamilies, the Momotinte, which range from southern Mexico through Central 

 America to Paraguay, and the Todina, which are confined to the Greater Antilles. 



The Motmots (Subfamily Mo molina), which range in length from about six 

 and a half to twenty inches, are rather handsome birds with much of green, 

 blue, cinnamon, and black in their loose-webbed plumage, and in most of 

 the forms the central tail-feathers are much longer than the others' and 



