The Cuban Tody. 115 



made no effort to move until I again closely approached it. 

 Sitting listlessly on a twig, while I stood a few feet away, 

 it now and then suddenly darted out after insects, catching 

 them with a quick snapping of its bill and returning to its 

 perch to swallow them, each such effort being accompanied 

 by a peculiar whirring sound made by its wings and a 

 hummingbird-like twitter. In swallowing the insects it 

 seemed to have a good deal of difficulty, working its head 

 up and down in the effort. The agility with which it pur- 

 sued an insect, the suddeness and quickness of the sally, 

 was very much in contrast with the air of stupidity it as- 

 sumed while at rest, showing that in spite of its apparent 

 laziness it was nevertheless on the alert for its prey. 



The tameness shown by this first Tody met with was 

 not exceptional, the various individuals met later showing 

 the same indifference. It is characteristic of the species 

 and a feature of disposition evidently not inherited from its 

 relatives, those wary birds, the kingfishers. In form, the 

 Tody strongly suggests a small kingfisher. It is a little 

 under four inches long, its body short and stocky, its head 

 large in proportion to its body, mandibles long and flatten- 

 ed, and its feet small and delicate. An unusual bird in 

 form, especially in view of its size, its plumage is even more 

 striking. Its throat is bright crimson, the feathers tipped 

 faintly with white; breast and abdomen dull white or ashy; 

 flanks pale pink; crissum yellowish green; lores yellow; 

 auriculars blue; under surface of wings and tail light brown; 

 and the crown, back, and upper surface of the wings and 

 tail bright grass green. 



While in the majority of cases, I found the birds in pairs, 

 it was apparently too early for them to be breeding, and I 

 did not find the nest. It is in regard to its nesting 

 habits that shows conclusively its relationship to the 

 kingfishers, excavating holes in banks as it does, and 

 laying white eggs. 



The lack of fear displayed by the Tody may be some- 

 what due to the bird's reliance upon its protective colors to 



