LINDEN'S HELMET CREST (_Oxypogon Lindeni_) is of an uniform pale
copper-colour on the mantle and under side; a spot on the brow and sides
of the head are black; the sides of the throat and the longest crest and
neck-feathers are white; the feathers of the tail are brown, with white
shafts. The length of this species is five inches and a half: the wing
measures three inches, and tail two and a half. Linden first discovered
this very striking bird in the Sierra de Morida, in Columbia, where it was
living at an elevation of from 12,000 to 13,000 feet above the level of
the sea.
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THE LIGHT-BEAKS (_Levirostres_).
The birds belonging to this order possess in common a moderate-sized or
long and sharp beak, which is either quite straight or slightly curved.
The legs are extremely small and feeble, rather adapted to a sedentary
life than formed for locomotion. The plumage is thick, compact, and
usually brilliantly tinted.
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The BEE-EATERS (_Meropes_) comprise some of the most beautiful birds
inhabiting the Eastern Hemisphere, and present so many peculiarities as
to render their identification easy. Their body is very slender; the beak
longer than the head, with both mandibles slightly curved, the upper one
a trifle longer than the lower; the culmen, margins, and tip are sharp;
the short, small foot has three toes, the exterior of which is connected
with that in the centre as far as the second joint, whilst the inner toe
is not joined to the latter beyond the first joint; the claws are long,
hooked, sharp, and furnished with a prominent ridge on the inner side; the
wing, in which the second quill exceeds the rest in length, is long and
pointed; the tail is long, either straight, forked, or slightly rounded at
its extremity; in some species the centre tail-feathers are twice as long
as those at the exterior. The brilliantly variegated plumage is short and
thick; the sexes are almost alike in colour, and the young acquire the
same hues as their parents within the second year.
One species of Bee-eater is found in Australia; but with this exception
all the members of this group inhabit the Eastern Hemisphere. As regards
their general habits, the Bee-eaters nearly resemble the Swallows, and,
like them, are to be seen darting through the air when the sun is shining,
in active pursuit of the insect hosts. Insects afford these pretty birds
their principal means of subsistence, and, as their name implies, they
eagerly devour large quantities of bees and wasps. The nests of the
Bee-eaters are usually placed near together in holes in the ground or
sand, and contain from four to seven pure white eggs.