The ORIENTAL DOLLAR BIRD (_Eurystomus Orientalis_), a nearly-allied Indian
species, we are told, passes a great portion of its time in flying from
place to place, and hangs, Woodpecker-like, from the trunks of trees
whilst in search of the grubs and insects on which it subsists.
* * * * *
The SAW-BILL ROLLERS (_Prionites_), though in many respects resembling the
Blue Rollers, differ from that bird in their superior length of tail and
height of tarsus, as well as in the saw-like edges with which the margin
of the beak is furnished; the latter is slightly curved, compressed at its
sides, and without a hook at its tip; the base of the beak is overgrown
with stiff, bristle-like feathers. The wings, in which the fourth or fifth
quills are the longest, are short and rounded; the strong, wedge-shaped
tail is composed sometimes of ten, sometimes of twelve feathers, placed
in pairs of equal length, of which the centre pair are the longest. The
plumage is full, soft, and consists of large feathers, thickly covered
with down at the roots.
The Saw-bill Rollers occupy the woods and forests of South America, and
lead a retired life, either alone or in pairs, and far from the abode of
man; their cry, which resembles a note from a flute, is most frequently
heard in the morning and evening. Insects afford their principal means of
subsistence, and these they obtain in a great measure from the surface of
the ground.