MOMOTIDAE 



379 



syllables " tu-hou " thrice repeated, either while hovering in the 

 air or while ascending or descending in vertical fashion. Mean- 

 while the wings are struck against the body, and the throat 

 puffed out like a bag. It is found in the forests in flocks of 

 about a dozen, perching and squatting lazily on the branches, 

 and scarcely moving when its neighbours are shot; the food 

 consists mainly of grasshoppers, chamaeleons, and lizards; the 



Fig. 77. — Kirombo. Leptosoma discolor. 



nest is said to be made of rushes and placed in holes, the eggs to 

 be white. One female is often accompanied by several males. 

 The Malagasy consider that the " Eeo " brings ill-luck, and make 

 it the theme of various tales and chants.-' 



Fam. II. Momotidae. — The Motmots and Todies fall natur- 

 ally between the EoUers and Kingfishers, but are also closely con- 

 nected with the Bee-Eaters, which do not occur in the New "World. 

 They compose the Sub-families (1) Momotinae and (2) Todinae, the 

 former ranging from South Mexico and the Antilles to Paraguay, 

 while the latter are restricted to the Greater Antilles. 



' For this, as most Madagascar birds, see Grandidier, Histoirc de Madagascar, 

 and Sibree, This, 1891, pp. 194-228, 416-443, 557-565 ; 1892, pp. 103-119, 261-274. 



