Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/59

46 parts rich scarlet; a white crescent crosses the chest; the outer tail-feathers are white, minutely barred with black; the secondaries and all the coverts of the wings are grey, delicately pencilled with black; the forehead and throat are black, and the beak light yellow. This beautiful bird is a native of Mexico.

While in the brilliant little Kingfisher of our own streams we trace a very manifest resemblance to the Todies, we find in the construction of its beak, and especially in its increased power, an indication of very different habits. The King-fishers are the most predatory of the Fissirostral tribe; our native species is a voracious devourer of fishes, and while most of the Family have similar instincts and appetites, there are not wanting species in which the beak is greatly enlarged, whose rapacity is formidable, even to reptiles, birds, and small quadrupeds.

The Family before us is characterized by a long, stout, pointed beak, with angular sides; small and feeble feet, the outmost and middle toes united to the last joint; wings rounded and hollow, incapable of protracted flight; a robust form, with a large head, and usually a short tail. Their plumage is dense and close, and commonly of blue or green hues. They are scattered over the world, but Australia with the adjacent isles, and South America, contain the greatest number of species.