THE SEARCHERS. 75 



Fe de Bogota, are the natural habitat of this fine species. It is there very generally spread over 

 the temperate regions of the country, never ascending to the snow-capped hills, nor descending to 

 the hot plains below, but frequenting the warm valleys, where a luxuriant vegetation, teeming with 

 insect life, affords it a never-ceasing supply of nourishment. The comparatively short and feeble 

 bill points out that minute insects constitute its principal food, and as its structure is so similar to 

 the other species of the genus, we may infer that, like them, it tranquilly flits about among the low 

 shrubs in secluded valleys, and does not ascend to the loftier trees." 



The HELMET CRESTS {Oxypogon) have a helmet-shaped crest, broad wings, a straight tail, 

 and lustreless plumage. 



LINDEN'S HELMET CREST. 

 Linden's Helmet Crest {Oxypogon Lindeni) is of an uniform pale copper-colour on the manrie 

 and under side ; a spot on the brow and sides of the head are black ; the sides of the throat and 

 the longest crest and neck-feathers are white ; the feathers of the tail are brown, with white shafts. 

 The length of this species is five inches and a half : the iving measures three inches, and tail two 

 and a half. Linden first discovered this very striking bird in the Sierra de Morida, in Columbia, 

 where it was living at an elevation of from 12,000 to 13,000 feet above the level of tlie sea. 



THE LIGHT-BEAKS {Levirosires). 



The birds belonging to this order possess in common a moderate-sized or long and sharp beak, 

 which is either quite straight or slightly curved. The legs are extremely small and feeble, rather 

 adapted to a sedentary life than formed for locomotion. The plumage is thick, compact, and usually 

 brilliantly tinted. 



The BEE-EATERS {Meropes) comprise some of the most beautiful birds inhabiting the Eastern 

 Hemisphere, and present so many peculiarities as to render their identification easy. Their body is 

 very slender ; the beak longer than the head, with both mandibles slightly cun-ed, the upper one a 

 trifle longer than the lower ; the culmen, margins, and tip are sharp ; the short, small foot has three 

 toes, the exterior of which is connected with that in the centre as far as the second joint, whilst the 

 inner toe is not joined to the latter beyond the first joint ; the claws are long, hooked, sharp, and 

 furnished with a prominent ridge on the inner side ; the wing, in which the second quill exceeds the 

 rest in length, is long and pointed ; the tail is long, either straight, forked, or slightly rounded at its 

 extremity ; in some species the centre tail-feathers are twice as long as those at the exterior. The 

 brilliantly variegated plumage is short and thick ; the sexes are almost alike in colour, and the young 

 acquire the same hues as their parents within the second year. 



One species of Bee-eater is found in Australia ; but with this exception all the members of this 

 group inhabit the Eastern Hemisphere. As regards their general habits, the Bee-eaters nearly 

 resemble the Swallows, and, like them, are to be seen darting through the air when the sun is shining, 

 in active pursuit of the insect hosts. Insects afford these pretty birds their principal means of 

 subsistence, and, as their name implies, they eagerly devour large quantities of bees and wasps. The 

 nests of the Bee-eaters are usually placed near together in holes in tlie ground or sand, and contain 

 from four to seven pure white eggs. 



