10 
BEAUTIFUL BIEDS. 
liiiid. Some species have only three toes, two in front 
and one behind. The anterior toes are so united as 
to form a broad sole, and a stable support for the body 
on a slender twig or other perch. The hill is gene- 
rally long, straight, and gradually tapering to a point, 
quadrangular in its section, and sometimes it is 
slightly curved. The wings are rounded ; and the 
form of the bird is altogether short and thick. 
Tlie Kingfisher, it is well known, watches patiently 
from a fixed station, generally a naked twig overhang- 
ing water, for such fish or other prey as may come 
within its reach, and then, after a time, flies to another 
station, where it alights and remains. The manners 
of the Piift-hirds, forming the genus Tamatia, are 
somewhat similar. They sit for hours together, Mr. 
Swainson says, on a dead or withered branch, from 
which they dart upon such insects as come sufficiently 
near. The Hermit-birds {Monassd) do the same, and 
frequently rise up perpendicularly in the air, make a 
swoop, and return again to their former station. 
Similar manners also belong to the Jacamars {GaJhuld), 
although their flight is weaker. They generally sit on 
low, naked branches in the forest paths, from whence 
they dart upon butterflies, spearing them ^fith their 
long bill ; their haunts, indeed, may frequently be 
known by the ground being strewed with the beautiful 
wings of their victims, the body of which they alone 
devour. 
The flight of the true Kingfisher is rapid and direct. 
Their plumage, especially that of the typical group, 
Alcedo, frequently exhibits the richest and most vivid 
colours, with a metallic or varying lustre, as differently 
