ROLLERS. 



79 



water and in the wooded districts. It feeds on beetles and other insects, but 

 also catches fish, which it seems to prefer. 

 Long-Tailed In the genus Tanysiptera the number of tail-feathers is reduced 



Kingfishers, to ten, of which the central ones are greatly elongated, and exceed 

 the body in length, generally ending in a racket-like expansion. Twenty species 

 are known, all of which are inhabitants only of the Moluccas, the Papuan Islands, 

 and the Cape York Peninsula in Northern Australia. Mr. Wallace, who discovered 

 several of the species during his travels in the Malay Archipelago, tells us that Jie 

 found them in forests and also in rocks by the side of streams. Macgillivray, who 

 found the beautiful Tanysiptera sylvia in North-Eastern Australia, states that it 

 frequented the dense bushes and the sunny glades in the woods. The flight is 

 rapid, and it darts away among the dense foliage like an arrow. It is very wary, 

 and sits on the bare branch of a tree, keeping a good lookout, and darting on to 

 some passing insect, and then returning to the same perch. Its cry resembles the 

 words tvheet, wheet, luheet, and it is said to tunnel into the ant-hills of red clay, 

 which are common in that part of Australia. 



The Eollers. 



Family GORACIID^. 



Birds of brilliant coloration, inhabiting most parts of the Old World, in the 

 shape of the body, as well as in the conformation of the beak, the rollers strikingly 

 resemble the crows. The palate is, however, of the bridged type, and the feet are 

 like those of the kingfishers, both in respect of the fiat sole and the union of the 

 toes ; while there are twelve tail-feathers. The five genera are arranged under 

 two subfamilies. The first subfamily {Brachypteraciince) is represented by three 

 genera confined to Madagascar, and characterised by the length of the metatarsus, 

 and their terrestrial habits. Of the typical genus, as well as of Geohiastes, little 

 has been related, but of Atelornis Grandidier states that both species live alone on 

 the ground in the forests ; the flight being straight and the birds only perching on 

 the lower branches. Sir Edward Newton says that he only observed these birds 

 in the dusk of the evening near the ground, and remarks that they have a curious 

 way of jerking the tail when alighting on a branch. 



In the true rollers the metatarsus is considerably shortened, and 

 the habits of all the species are arboreal. In addition to the true 

 rollers, the second subfamily also includes the broad-billed rollers (Euvystomus). 

 In the common roller (Coracias garrula) and its allies the bill is long and com- 

 pressed, being much longer than it is broad at the base ; while the members of the 

 genus are of brilliant plumage, and are found all over Africa, Southern Asia 

 and Malaj^sia, as far as the island of Celebes. The common roller is drab-brown 

 above, the rump greenish blue washed with purple ; the wing-coverts blue, the 

 lesser ones purple; the head green with a bluish eyebrow; the base of the- 

 forehead sandy buff; the under surface of the body blue ; the breast lilac-brown ; 

 the sides of the neck and hind-neck purplish lilac ; and the wings and tail purplish 

 blue, with a band of silvery cobalt ; the total length being 12 inches. Writing 



