The SAW-BILL (_Grypus nævius_) is at once recognisable by its straight,
powerful beak, which rises high at its base, and is twice the length of
the head, and by its broad tail, the two outer feathers of which are
short. Upon the back the plumage is of a pale metallic green, glowing
with a reddish lustre; the brow and crown of head are dark brown; all the
feathers on the mantle, except those on the wing-covers, are edged with
reddish yellow; the sides of the neck are yellowish red; a narrow line
that passes along the throat, the breast, belly, and rump are yellowish
white, each feather striped with black; another pale reddish yellow
line passes over the eyes; the quills are black, those at the exterior
enlivened by a violet gloss; the centre tail-feathers are green and the
outermost reddish yellow; the eye is dark brown; the upper mandible black,
and the lower yellowish white; the foot is flesh-pink. The body is five
inches and three-quarters long; the wing measures three inches, and the
tail one inch and a half.
"The _Grypus nævius_," says M. Deyrolle, "is common in all the provinces
of Santa Caterina, in Brazil, but is more frequently met with in woody
situations than elsewhere. Its flight is exceedingly noisy, very vigorous,
and capable of being sustained for a great length of time, the bird rarely
alighting. Its cry is so loud and piercing as to be heard above everything
else, while it flutters round the flowers of various species of orchids,
from which it obtains its principal nourishment."
"In all probability," says Gould, "the serrations with which the cutting
edges of both mandibles of this bird are furnished are expressly provided
to enable it to capture with facility some peculiar kinds of insect food;
perhaps spiders and small coleoptera. The nest sent to me by Mr. Reeves is
precisely similar in size, form, and situation to those constructed by the
members of the genus _Phaëtornis_, being of a lengthened, pointed form,
composed of fine vegetable fibres and mosses, intermingled with which,
especially on the lower part, are portions of dead leaves and pieces of
lichen attached to the extremities of the leaves of apparently a species
of palm."
The velocity with which these Humming Birds glance through the air is
extraordinary, and so rapid is the vibration of their wings, that their
movement eludes the sight; when hovering before a flower, they seem
suspended as if by some magic power.