T O D U S viridis. 

 Green Tody. 



Family Todidte. See PI. 41. 

 Published Genera. Fluvicola. Nengetus. Alecturns. Muscicapa, 

 (pars). Conopophasa. Platyrhj ncluis. Todus. Eurylaoius. 

 Queiula ? Psaris. Pachvihynchus. 



Generic Character. See Lesson, Man. 1, p. 178. 



Specific Character. 



Bright green, beneath ichkeish ; throat scarlet ; sides of the body 

 rosey ; under tail covers yelloiv. 



Todus viridis. Auet, 



Mus. Paris. Nost. 



This sing-ular little bird has long excited the particular at- 

 tention of those naturalists who study the affinities of groups, 

 more than the details of species. It is a native of the 

 West Indian Islands, and although stated to be not un- 

 common, the accounts given of its manners are perfectly 

 contradictory. One author asserts that it is almost always 

 geen upon the ground, from whence it receives the name of 

 Perroquet de Terre : another, that it only frequents the 

 "lonely part of moist places" (woods ?), where it sits in a 

 couched manner, with its head thrown considerably back, 

 and is so stupid, as almost to be taken by the hand. M, 

 Vieillot confirms part of the latter particulars, although 

 he repeats, without denying, the former. In our opinion 

 the last is entitled to the most credance, although it is con- 

 tradictory to the idea of this being a terrestial bird. 



We cannot but feel surprise and regret, that the " very 

 interesting account" of this bird, long ago announced (Zool. 

 Journ. Dec. 1827. p. 439^*, as having been sent from Cuba, 

 by Mr. Macleay, to the Linnean Society, should still be 

 unknown to the scientific world. There is, indeed, a valu- 

 able paper by this gentleman on certain birds of Cuba, in 

 the first part of the sixteenth Vol. of the Society's Transac- 

 tions, where its author alludes to the " description and 

 anatomy of two birds" {p. 12) both of which are nevertheless 

 omitted : The Todus viridis, we apprehend is truly " one of 

 those solitary species," which, as Mr. Macleay observes, 

 " from having been neglected, may serve to unfold an ex- 

 ception, sufficient to destroy the most plausible system.'''' 

 For ourselves, we shall feel much surprised if this bird is 

 entitled, in the slightest degree, to a station among the 

 Fissirostres, in which order it has been placed by M. Vigors, 

 in his paper " On the Natural affinities of Birds." 



