THE RAYA.
The RAYA (Psarisomus Dalhousiæ), a representative of the above birds, is recognisable by its moderate-sized, broad beak, which is decidedly curved at its culmen and hooked at its tip. The short wing is slightly rounded, the tail long and graduated, and the plumage brightly tinted; the mantle is bright blue; the top of the head, except a small blue spot, quite black; the brow, cheek-stripes, a small tuft near the ear, the throat, and a narrow band at the nape are saffron-yellow; the entire under side is of a parrot green; the blackish-brown quills have a blue outer web; the tail-feathers are blue above and glossy blackish brown beneath; the eyes brown, and beak green, with a black culmen; the foot is dusky greenish yellow. The length of this species is fourteen inches; the wing measures four inches, and the tail five inches and a half.
This beautiful bird inhabits India, and, as Jerdon tells us, is met with in the forests of the Himalayas to a height of 6,000 feet above the sea; those he found were engaged in seeking their insect prey upon the trees, either alone or in pairs. The nest, according to the same author, is a large structure, loosely framed of grass and moss. The eggs, two in number, have a white shell.
The TODIES (Todi), a group of American birds, apparently representing the Broad-throats, are remarkable for the very peculiar formation of their beak; and on this account much diversity of opinion has arisen as to the place that should properly be assigned them. All the species with which we are acquainted are small, delicately-built birds, possessing moderate-sized and straight beaks, with both mandibles so flatly compressed that they may literally be described as two thin plates; the margins of the bill are finely incised, and the gape extends as far back as the eyes; the tarsus is slender, and scarcely longer than the middle toe; the toes are unusually long and thin, armed with short, delicate, but very sharp hooked claws; the fourth, fifth, and sixth quills in the short, rounded wings exceed the rest in length; the tail, of moderate length, is broad, and slightly incised. The plumage, which consists of soft, compact feathers, is replaced by bristles in the region of the beak; the tongue, except at its fleshy root, resembles a horny plate, and is as transparent as the barrel of a quill.
THE TODY, OR GREEN FLATBILL.
The TODY, or GREEN FLAT-BILL (Todus viridis), is of a blueish green on the back, and greyish-white on the under side. The throat and upper breast are bright rose red, and the belly pale yellow; the quills are greyish green; the centre tail-feathers green, and those at the exterior grey; the eye is pale grey, the beak reddish horn-grey above, and bright scarlet beneath; the foot flesh-pink or brownish red. This species is four inches and a quarter long, and six and a half broad; the wing measures one inch and four-fifths, and the tail one inch and a half. The sexes closely resemble each other in the coloration of their plumage.
"In all parts of Jamaica," says Gosse, "that I have visited, the Tody is a very common bird. On the summit of Bluefields Mountain, about 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and particularly where the deserted provision-grounds are overgrown with an almost impenetrable thicket of joint-wood, it is especially abundant. Always conspicuous, from its bright, grass-green coat, and crimson velvet gorget, it is still a very tame bird; yet this seems rather the tameness of indifference than of confidence: it will allow a person to approach very near, and, if disturbed, alight on another twig a few yards distant. We have often captured specimens with an insect-net, and struck them down with a switch; it is not uncommon for the little boys to creep up behind one, and actually to clap the hand over it as it sits, and thus secure it. It is a general favourite, and has received a familiar name—that of Robin Redbreast. There is little resemblance, however, between the European Robin and its West Indian namesake. I have never seen the Tody on the ground; but it hops about the twigs of low trees, searching for minute insects, occasionally uttering a querulous, sibilant note. But more commonly it is seen sitting patiently on a twig, with the head drawn in, the beak pointing upwards, and the lower plumage puffed out, when it appears much larger than it really is. It certainly has an air of stupidity when thus seen; but this abstraction is more apparent than real. If we watch it we shall see that the odd-looking grey eyes are glancing hither and thither, and that ever and anon the bird sallies out upon a short, feeble flight, snaps at something in the air, and returns to his twig to swallow it. I have never seen the Tody eat vegetable food; but I have occasionally found in its stomach, among minute coleopterous and hymenopterous insects, a few small seeds. One of these birds, which I kept in a cage, would snatch worms from me with impudent audacity, and then beat them violently against the perch or sides of the cage, to divide before he swallowed them. One captured in April, on being turned into a room, began immediately to catch flies and other minute insects that flitted about. At this employment he continued incessantly and most successfully all that evening and all the next day, from earliest dawn till dark. He would sit on the edge of the table, on shelves, or on the floor, ever glancing about, now and then flitting up into the air, when the snap of his beak announced a capture, and he returned to his station to eat it; he would peep into the lowest and darkest corners, even under the tables, for the little globose, long-legged spiders, which he would drag from their webs and swallow. He sought these also about the ceilings and walls. I have said that he continued at this employment all day without intermission, and I judge that on the average he made a capture per minute. We may thus form some idea of the immense number of insects destroyed by these and similar birds. Water in a basin was in the room, but I did not see him drink. Though so actively engaged in his own occupation, he cared nothing for the presence of man; he sometimes alighted voluntarily on our heads, shoulders, or fingers, and when sitting would permit me at any time to put my hand over him and take him up, though when in the hand he would struggle to get out. He seemed likely to thrive; but incautiously settling in front of a dove-cage, a surly bald-pate poked his head through the wires, and aimed a blow at the head of the unoffending Tody. She did not appear to mind it at first, but an hour afterwards shivered and died."
"The Green Tody," says Mr. Hill, "is a bird of peculiar structure and habits; he is exclusively an insect-feeder, and burrows in the earth to breed. The subterranean nest is made wherever there is mould easy of excavation; ravines and gullies, whose banks are earthy, and where the water passes rapidly from the surface-soil, are generally selected. The excavation is made by the beak and claws. It is a winding gallery, rounded at the bottom, and terminating in a sufficiently wide lodging, lined with pliant fibres, dry moss, and cotton, placed with much attention to arrangement. Four or five grey, brown-spotted eggs are laid, and the young are fed within the cave till they are full-fledged."