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.