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KINGFISHERS. 
COLLARED BARBET .— Bucco collatis. 
The wings and back are darker than the head, and cov- 
ered with a number of small black bars. The tail is 
chestnut and barred with black. 
The White-faced Baebet is not so handsome a 
bird, being more sombre in its clothing than the collared 
Barbet. The general color of this bird is black, and the 
forehead and face are white, together with the chin. In 
size it is about equal to our common starling. It is also 
a native of Southern America. This bird has been chosen 
as a representative of the genus Monasa, a small group 
of birds which has been separated from the other Barbets 
on account of the form of the beak and the structure of 
the wing. 
The last example of these curious birds is the 
White-backed Barbet, which serves to represent the 
genus Chelidoptera. This is a much smaller bird than 
either of the preceding examples, but is notable on 
account of the curious manner in which its plumage is 
diversified with black and white. The general tint of 
the body is sooty black, but upon the back there is a 
conspicuous patch of white, and a considerable amount 
of white is scattered over the middle of the wings, and 
upon the under tail-coverts. It is also a native of South- 
ern America. 
So highly gifted are these birds with that quality which is called “adhesiveness” by 
phrenologists, that when they have once selected a twig as a resting-place, they will remain 
faithful to their choice, and for month after month may be seen sitting on the identical perch, 
lethargic and happy. They are solitary birds, never being seen in flocks, and very seldom in 
pairs, residing always in the murkiest recesses of the deep forests, in preference to the open 
country, and sitting on their low perch in spots which the foot of man seldom penetrates. 
KINGFISHERS. 
The Kixgfisiiers form a tolerably well-marked group of birds, all of which are remark- 
able for the length of the bills and the comparative shortness of their bodies, which gives them 
a peculiar bearing that is not to be mistaken. 
The bills of these birds are all long and sharp, and in most cases are straight. Their front 
toes are always joined together more or less, and the number of the toes is very variable in 
form and arrangement ; some species possessing them in pairs, like those of the parrots, others 
having them arranged three in front and one behind, as is usually the case with birds, while a 
few species have only three toes altogether, two in front and one behind. The wings are 
rounded. As may be gathered from their popular name, they mostly feed upon fish, which 
they capture by pouncing upon the finny prey ; although in some instances, such as that with 
which we shall commence our history, they make the greatest part of their diet of insects and 
crustaceans. In color they are very variable, some being comparatively dull in tint, possessing 
no colors but black, brown, and white, while others are decorated with the most brilliant 
plumage, which nearly equals that of the trogons in gorgeousness of hue, although the colors 
fire not distributed in such large masses, nor are the feathers so exquisitely soft and downy. 
