424 The Bird 
interesting types of tail-feathers—those of hummingbirds, 
birds of paradise, and many others; but there is one which 
deserves especial mention. These birds, of which there 
are a number of species, are the motmots, abundant in 
many parts of Mexico and southward. The tail-feathers 
of the Mexican motmot, which are bluish green in colour, 
Fic. 340.—Tails of Motmot: (a) young male; (b) adult female. 
have nothing peculiar about them, except the middle pair, 
which are two inches longer than the others. Of this 
extra length one inch is bare shaft, while at the tip the 
barbs are normal, forming a racket-shaped extremity. The 
fact which places this slight decoration above all other more 
elaborate examples in point of interest is that the birds 
themselves voluntarily produce the racket condition. Even 
the youngest birds, of both sexes, when the long central 
