92 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



makeshift of folded leaves, handkerchiefs, and 

 hats. Active myriopods darted about the fallen 

 wet leaves, quantities of the milleped lulus of 

 more sedate habit ranged the rocks and ground, 

 and a wealth of insect life invited capture. 



While busily collecting, a flash of green and red 

 darted past and lodged upon a shrub not five feet 

 away — our first todi. 



One of the most beautiful birds of Cuba is this 

 little todi (Todus multicolor Gld.) which, excepting 

 for the humming-birds, is the smallest of the 

 feathered inhabitants of the island. Its entire 

 length from the tip of bill to tip of tail is about 

 3J^ inches. The entire dorsal parts of the bird are 

 brilliant grass-green. There is a large throat patch 

 of bright scarlet, bordered by a zone of white at 

 the angle of the bill, which is replaced toward the 

 posterior end of the patch by a bright blue. The 

 under parts are white and smoky and the flanks 

 are washed with a pale scarlet. This little jewel 

 of a bird may be found anywhere in western Cuba, 

 usually in low shrubbery bordering some path, and 

 he invites your attention by a song, which recalls 

 faintly a relationship to the kingfisher, for if one 

 analyzes the kingfisher's rattling note by repeat- 



