AVES. 325 
one of the largest of this family, and appears to be common in Brazil; while 
the little American kingfisher (C. americana) is one of the smallest. It 
also is found abundantly in South America, and has recently been 
discovered in Texas. Several species are known to inhabit Mexico, and 
some large species inhabit India and Africa. The great Java kingfisher, 
C. javanicus (pi. 103, fig. 4), is one of the most common, 
Sub-fam. 4. Galbuline, or Jacamars. Bill very long, straight, and 
pointed, greatly compressed, culmen sharp; wings short; tail more or less 
lengthened, and usually graduated. Tarsi short. feathered; feet weak ; 
toes usually two before and two behind. Size small; plumage usually 
brilliant metallic green. 
A sub-family, composed of about a dozen species of brilliantly colored 
and peculiar looking little birds, exclusively confined to South America 
and the West Indies. They inhabit damp places in the forests, and are 
said to subsist entirely upon insects, which they devour after having 
divested them of their wings and other hard parts. These birds breed in 
holes in trees or in the banks of streams in the manner of kingfishers. 
Several species are common in collections: they are the green jacamar 
(Galbula viridis), the white-bellied jacamar (G. albirostris), and others. 
One of the most beautiful is the largest species known; it is called the 
grand jacamar, and is found in the interior of South America, though 
nothing respecting its history or habits has been reported by travellers. 
A recently discovered species of this sub-family, a very modest and 
unpresuming bird apparently, is remarkable for having had given to it one 
of the longest of ornithological names, Jacamaralcyonides leucotis. 
Fam. 6. Meroripa, or Bez-raters. A family composed of birds exclu- 
sively inhabiting the warm regions of the Old World, and universally 
known by the name of “bee-eaters.”” They form one sub-family only, as 
below. 
Sub-fam. Meropine. Bill long, curved, slender and pointed, compressed. 
and with the tip very acute; wings long, pointed, secondary quills 
emarginated ; tail long, broad, usually with the two middle tail feathers 
longest. Tarsi short, strong; toes long; claws moderate. Size small ; 
plumage generally green. 
This sub-family contains about forty species of birds found almost 
exclusively in Asia and Africa. They are migratory in their habits, and 
one species occasionally visits northern and central Europe; it is the 
common bee-eater (Merops apiaster). All the species are said to subsist 
entirely upon insects, which they catch upon the wing with great dexterity, 
and in pursuit of which they skim over the surface of the ground like 
swallows. Nearly all the species are handsome little birds with green and 
yellow plumage, and several are very commonly brought from India and 
Western Africa. The Indian species usually met with are the green 
bee-eater (Merops viridis) and the Java bee-eater (M. javanicus) ; from 
Africa we frequently have the swallow bee-eater (M. hirundinaceus), the 
red-throated bee-eater (M. ruficollis), and many others. One species has 
been discovered in Australia, M. ornatus. 
ICONOGRAFHIC ENCYCLOP£DIA.— VOL. II. 34 529 
