Si cassell's book of hikds. 



presents a peculiarity of manner that there is no possibiHt)' of mistaknig. When in a tree, it does 

 not hop about among the branches, but conducts itself in the same way as many other tenuirostral 

 species, ahvays assisting its movements from one bough to another by the help of its wings. It can 

 scarcely be said ever to come upon the ground, but sometimes flies so close to the earth that it 

 might easily be supposed to be running over its surface. Unlike the Bee-eaters, these birds are very 

 quarrelsome and unsociable, biting at any intruder, even of their own species, and rjuite incapable of 

 living peaceably with any other kind. Their voice corresponds well with their German name of 

 Rake, consisting of a loud, rattling repetition of "raker, raker, raker" — a cry occasionally exchanged 

 for " rak, rak, jack." 



These birds live principally upon insects, all sorts of which they greedily devour ; sometimes 

 they will have no objection to a mouse, or a bird, a lizard, a frog, or any other small animal. It 

 is a very common opinion that the Blue Roller can dispense with water altogether, that it neither 

 drinks it nor uses it for a bath ; and truly any one who has seen it, as we have done, in the midst 

 of the arid plains in which it seems to be most at home, will scarcely feel inclined to doubt the 

 possibility of the statement being well founded. 



The usual nesting-place of this Roller is in some hollow tree, and its nest is usually constructed 

 of roots and straw, lined with hair and feathers ; in the south of Europe it not unfrequently builds 

 in rifts and chinks in old walls, or even excavates for itself a hole in the ground, much in the same 

 way as tl>e Bee-eaters. The brood consists of from four to six white and polished eggs. Both 

 sexes co-operate in the work of incubation, and so assiduously do they maintain their post when 

 sitting, that they may be sometimes caught with the hand while upon the nest. The young are fed 

 upon insects and grubs. They soon learn to fly, but remain with their parents, and accompany them 

 in their winter migrations. 



The DOLLAR BIRDS {Eurys/omus) are recognisable by their short, flat beak, which is broad 

 at its sides, rounded at the culmen, and very decidedly hooked ; the second wing-quill is the longest ; 

 the tail is either short and straight or slightly rounded ; the structure of the foot and coloration of 

 the plumage resemble that of the group above described. 



THE AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR BIRD. 



The Australian Dollar Bird {Eurystomus Australis, or Pacificus) is of a deep brown on the 

 head and neck, the rest of the mantle being sea-green ; the region of the cheek is black ; the 

 feathers on the throat a bright green ; the secondary quills, roots of the outer web of the primaries, 

 and the outer web of the roots of the tail-feathers, are bright blue ; and there is a blueish-white spot 

 on the centre of the wing. The eye is dark brown ; the eyelids, beak, and legs are red. The length 

 of this species is ten inches; the wing measures six inches and three-quarters, and the tail three inches 

 and a half 



According to Gould, the Dollar Bird appears in New South Wales in the spring, and again 

 retires north as soon as the young are fully grown. On dull days, or at early morning, and in the 

 evening, it is to be seen most actively employed in pursuit of the beetles and other insects on which 

 it subsists. 



"When engaged in the capture of insects," says Gould, "it usually perches upon the dead, 

 upright branch of a tree growing beside and overhanging water, where it sits very erect, staring 

 all around until a passing insect attracts its notice, when it suddenly darts off, secures its victim, 

 and returns to the same branch ; at other times it may constantly be seen on the wing, mostly in 



