86 CASSELUS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



forty birds ; and that they are either so fearless or so stupid as to rjmain on their perch rep-ardkss of 

 the shots that are kiyiiig their companions dead. 



THE RAYA. 



The Raya {Psarisomns Bal/tousice), a representative of the above birds, is recognisable by its 

 moderate-sized, broad beak, which is decidedly curved at its culmen and hooked at its tip. The 

 short wing is sliglitly rounded, the tail long and graduated, and the plumage brightly tinted ; the 

 mantle is bright blue ; the top of the head, except a small blue spot, quite black ; the brow, cheek- 

 stripes, a small tuft near the ear, the throat, and a narrow band at the nape are saffron-yellow ; the 

 entire under side is of a parrot green ; the blackish-brown quills have a blue outer web ; the tail- 

 feathers are blue above and glossy blackish brown beneath ; the eyes brown, and beak green, v;\\h a 

 black culmen ; the foot is dusky greenish yellow. The length of this species is fourteen inches ; the 

 wing measures four inches, and the tail fu'e inches and a half. 



This beautiful bird inhabits India, and, as Jerdon tells us, is met with in the forests of the 

 Himalayas to a height of 6,000 feet above the sea ; those he found were engaged in seeking their 

 insect prey upon the trees, either alone or in pairs. The nest, according to the same author, is a 

 ■large structure, loosely framed of grass and moss. The eggs, two in number, have a white shell. 



The TODIES {Todi), a group of American birds, apparently representing the Broadthroats, are 

 remarkable for the very peculiar formation of their beak ; and on this account much diversity of opinion 

 has arisen as to the place that should properly be assigned them. All the species with which we are 

 acquainted are small, delicately-built birds, possessing moderate-sized and straight beaks, with both 

 mandibles so flatly compressed that they may literally be described as two thin plates ; the margins of 

 the bill are finely incised, and the gape extends as far back as the eyes ; the tarsus is slender, and 

 scarcely longer than the middle toe ; the toes are unusually long and thin, armed with short, delicate, 

 but very sharp hooked claws ; the fourth, fifth, and sixth quills in the short, rounded wings exceed the 

 rest in length ; the tail, of moderate length, is broad, and slightly incised. The plumage, which 

 consists of soft, compact feathers, is replaced by bristles in the region of the beak ; the tongue, 

 except at Its fleshy root, resembles a horny plate, and is as transparent as the barrel of a quill. 



THE TODY, OR GREEN FLATBILL. 



The Tody, or Green Flatbill {Todus viridis), is ofablueish green on the back, and greyish 

 white on the undir side. The throat and upper breast are bright rose red, and the belly pale yellow; 

 the quills are greyish green ; the centre tad-feathers green, and those at the exterior grey ; the eye 

 is pale grey, the beak reddish horn-grey above, and bright scarlet beneath ; the foot flesh-pink or 

 brownish red. This species is four inches and a quarter long, and six and a half broad ; the wing 

 measures one inch and four-fifths, and the tail one inch and a half The sexes closely resemble each 

 other in the coloration of their plumage. 



"In all parts of Jamaica," says Gosse, "that I have visited, the Tody is a very common bird. 

 On the summit of Bluefields Mountain, about 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and particularly 

 where the deserted provision-grounds are overgrown with an almost impenetrable thicket of joint- 

 wood, it is especially abundant. Always conspicuous, from its bright, grass-green coat, and crimson 

 velvet gorget, it is still a very tame bird ; yet this seems rather the tameness of indifference than 

 of confidence : it will allow a person to approach very near, and, if disturbed, alight on another twig 

 a few yards distant. We have often captured specimens with an insect-net, and struck them down 

 with a switch ; it is not uncommon for the little boys to creep up behind oue, and actually to clap 



