The Collared Puff-bird. BIRDS. The Bee-eater. 301 
light in which it is viewed; the head is dull violet- 
green, and the throat is white. This species is less 
retired and solitary in its habits than the others, being 
found in the more open parts of the forest, and usually 
in pairs. 
THE THEEE-TOED JACAMAE {Jacamaralcyon tri- 
dactyla). This species differs from the other Jaca- 
mars in possessing only three toes ; two in front, 
united to each other, and one behind. It is of a dull 
green colour above, with the forehead and erown of 
the head reddish- white ; the throat and cheeks are 
black, and from the throat a black streak descends 
along the sides of the body to the lower tail-coverts, 
which, with the vent, are also black ; the rest of the 
lower surface of the body is reddish-white. This 
curiously marked bird is a native of Brazil. Its 
habits agree -with those of the other species. 
THE GEEAT JACAMAE {Jacam&'ops grandis ) — 
Plate 8, fig. 23 — has the feet similar to those of the 
ordinary species, but the bill, which is rather stout, is 
slightly curved throughout its whole length. It is 
about eleven inches in length. The plumage of the 
whole upper surface is of a rich and brilliant golden- 
green, exhibiting a more or less reddish lustre in cer- 
tain lights ; the quill-feathers of the wings are blackish 
externally, and the lower surface is red. The bill is 
black. This bird is also a native of the tropical parts 
of America. 
THE COLLAKED PUFF-BIRD {Bucco collaris). The 
curious group of birds called Puff-birds, from their 
habit of puffing out their plumage so as to appear 
much larger than they really are, is placed amongst the 
Alcedinidse by Mr, G. R. Gray, although it certainly 
appears to have considerable affinity with the small 
group of birds called Barbets, belonging to the scan- 
sorial family of the Woodpeckers. They have a very 
stout, conical bill, somewhat inflated at the base, which 
bears several tufts of strong bristles ; and the toes are 
arranged in twb pairs, the two outer toes being the 
longest. There are numerous species of this group, 
all inhabitants of tropical America, where they lead a 
solitary, and somewhat sedentary life in the recesses of 
the forests. They live exclusively upon insects, and 
breed in the holes of trees. 
The Collared Puff-bird, which is an inhabitant of 
Guiana, measures rather more than seven inches in 
length; it is of a red colour, with transverse black 
streaks above, whitish beneath, with a black band 
across the breast, and above this a tawny one ; the 
feathers of the tail are also banded with black. 
THE VAX-BILLED BAEBACOU {Monasa atra). Of 
the numerous species of Puff-birds inhabiting South 
America, we need only refer to this species, the type 
of a genus [Monasa), the species of which are rather 
more active, and less solitary in their habits, than the 
rest of their allies. They possess longer wings, and 
fly better than the Buccos, and although they I'eside in 
the forest, they often seek the insects which constitute 
their food over the inundated savannahs. They are 
said to breed sometimes in the holes of trees, and 
sometimes in the earth. The Wax-billed Barbacou 
measures nearly a foot in length, and is black above, 
ash-coloured beneath ; the bill is of a fine carmine 
colour. It is a native of Guiana, With these birds 
we quit the family of the Alcedinidse. 
Family VI. — MEROPID.®. 
The birds of this family present certain points of 
resemblance both to the Kingfishers and Swallows 
amongst the Fissirostres on the one hand, and to the 
slender-billed birds of the following group (Tenui- 
rostres) on the other. They have an elongated, and 
more or less curved bill, of which the gape extends 
backwards beneath the eyes ; their nostrils are partly 
concealed by short bristles ; their wings are long and 
pointed, indicating considerable powers of flight ; and 
they have a long and broad, usually more or less 
wedge-shaped tail, of which the two middle feathers 
are generally a good deal longer than the rest. Their 
tarsi are very short, and the long toes are placed as in 
birds generally, namely, three in front and one behind; 
the anterior lateral toes are united to the middle one, 
the outer one throughout its whole length. The bril- 
liant birds belonging to this family are all inhabitants 
of the eastern hemisphere, especially ot its tropical 
portions. Their food consists of insects, which they 
capture in the air, like the Swallows, to which they 
bear so much resemblance. Bees and wasps constitute 
a favourite portion of their nourishment, from which 
circumstance they have received the English name ot 
Bee-eaters. The French, on the same account, call 
them Guepievs, or wasp-catchers. Of the African 
species, one — 
THE COMMON BEE-EATEE [Merops apiastcr') — Plate 
8, fig. 24 — visits the south of Europe regularly as a 
summer bird of passage; and as occasional specimens 
find their way northwards to this country, it is recorded 
as a British bird. This beautiful bird measures nearly 
eleven inches in length, from the tip of the bill to that 
of the elongated middle feathers of the tail. Its bill is 
black, and a black streak runs from its base under the 
eye, to join a bluish-black band which crosses below 
the throat ; the forehead is bluish ; the upper surface is 
of a fine reddish-brown- colour, becoming yellow on the 
rump ; the quill-feathers of the wings are greenish-blue, 
with the tips black ; the tail-coverts are bluish-green, 
and the tail-feathers green. The lower surface is 
bright green, with the chin and throat of a rich saffron 
yellow colour. 
In Africa, this species has been observed nearly as 
far south as the Cape of Good Hope. It also occurs 
in Madeira, and in the spring passes in troops of twenty 
or thirty from the northern shores of Africa, in all 
parts of which it is well known, to the islands of the 
Mediterranean, and thence in considerable numbers to 
the south of Europe, where it remains through the 
summer to breed. It is abundant in Turkey, Greece, 
and Southern Russia, and is also common in Spain and 
Italy. Those individuals which visit more northern 
countries, must be looked upon as stragglers, and the 
Bee-eater is thus known as an occasional visitor not 
only to this country, but also even to Norway and 
Sweden. 
In its habits the Bee-eater somewhat resembles the 
Swallows, hunting about like them in pursuit of insects, 
