MOMOTUS. 



455 



p. 429) Salvin gave an account of this curious practice on the part of Motmots, with 

 the evidence then forthcoming on the subject. Since then Mr. Cherrie has, as quoted 

 below, watched young of Momotus lessoni in confinement performing the operation ; 

 so that there can be no further doubt on the subject. Instances in which the process 

 is neglected or imperfectly executed often occur in individuals of the same species, so 

 that the use of the character in a generic sense cannot be entertained. 



Southern Mexico and Central America is the metropolis of the Momotidse ; all the 

 genera are found within these limits, and three of them, Eumomota, Aspatha, and 

 Hylomanes, do not occur elsewhere. 



Dr. Gaumer, who diiring his long residence in Northern Yucatan had constant 

 opportunity of studying the habits of the Motmots of that region, has published some 

 interesting notes on them (Trans. Kansas Ac. Sc. viii. p. 63). After giving various 

 native accounts of the way the birds acquire the spatules to the tail, which we need 

 not repeat here, he goes on to say : " The Momotidse all live beneath the surface of the 

 earth ; some in the deserted dens of the Armadillo and other burrowing quadrupeds ; 

 some live in caves, some in the crevices of the rocks and cliffs, while others take up 

 their abode near the homes of men, living in their wells and ' senotes.' Their food 

 consists of small frogs, worms, and other things which their subterranean abodes furnish 

 them, with a few insects which they catch on the wing. They are seldom seen in bad 

 weather, early in the morning, in the heat of the day, and never at night. This 

 exclusion from light, and exposure to perpetual moisture, gives them a loose, pale flesh 

 and almost colourless blood, and soft muscles, thus rendering them very lazy and stupid, 

 though they sometimes retreat very quickly when the hunter tries to get a shot at them. 

 The nests are made in some secluded corner of their underground homes. They consist 

 of sticks and mud, or grass and mud, and are seldom large enough for the bare shafts 

 of the tail-feathers to rest upon the rim ; nor would this account for the mutilation of 

 the feathers even were the conditions of the nest favourable, for the web of the feather 

 is arranged laterally upon the shaft, and a vertical motion would be required to wear it 

 away, whereas the movement of the tail is from side to side. Some of the Momotidae 

 are very tame, and seem to have no fear of man, but rather to prefer his company, 



making their nests in his wells and his cellars " Dr. Gaumer's further remarks 



relate chiefly to Eumomota superciliaris, and will be found under the account of 

 that species. 



MOMOTUS. 



Momotus, Brisson, Orn. iv. p. 465 (1760); Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xvii. p. 318. 

 Prionites, lUiger, Prodr. p. 224 (1811). 



Momotus is the most widely distributed genus of the family and contains the largest 

 number of species. Its range extends from North-eastern Mexico and the southern 

 side of the lower Eio Grande Valley to Eastern and Southern Brazil. The species of 



