PRIONITES, Ill. AIONIOT.
Feet and carriage of the bee-eaters; but the bill is stronger, with the margins of both mandibles notched and the tongue is barbed, or feathered, like that of the toucans.
P. Brasiliensis, City. Bainpha•tos moinota, Lin. 3Io mota Brawiliensis, Shaw. Moinotus Brasiliensis, Lath. Baryphonus Cyanocephalus, Vicill. Brasilian Brasilian Saw-billed Roller. Green above, buff-coloured beneath; crown blue, marked with a black spot, and the two middle tail-feathers elongated. Head large' bill black, legs black, and claws hooked. Length, from the tip of the bill to that of the tail, about a foot and a half. Edwards, in his minute description of this bird, remarks, that the two long feathers in the middle of the tail seem as if they were stripped of their webs on ea,h side, for the space of an inch, a little within their tips; and Buffon seizes on this peculiarity as an excel lent distinctive character, although he admits that it is only observable in the adult birds. Some have sup posed that the defect is occasioned by the bird itself tearing off that portion of the web, after every moulting; but it is by no means probable, that every individual would be instinctively guided to such a capricious and useless practice ; and the circumstance may, perhaps, be accounted for by some unknown habit peculiar to the bird. This species inhabits the hotter regions of South America, particularaly Guiana and Brazil. In the former country, it is known by the name of Hootoo, which is expressive of the bird's cry, a sound which it utters dis tinctly and abruptly, as often as it leaps, and which is heard early in the morning, before all the other birds are awake. Naturally shy, it courts the recesses of the forest,
and lives in solitude. It is chiefly seen on the ground, or on some low branch of a tree, taking short flights, when disturbed. The female makes a nest of stalks and dry grass on the ground, frequently in the deserted hole of an armadillo, cavy, or other quadruped, and usually lays two eggs. It feeds on insects and raw flesh, the frag ments of which it macerates in water. When caught, it strikes violently with its bill.
P. Cyanogaster, Blue-bellied Moinot. Green above, blue beneath, tail cuneated. Length fourteen inches and a half. Has the habits of the preceding. Its usual cry is too, too, too, but it also utters hunu in a more feeble tone. In confinement, it readily eats raw meat, and little bits of bread, frequently striking them against the ground before swallowing them, as if it believed them to be en dued with life: It gives chase to small birds, of which it is very fond ; and, when it catches them, it beats them, in like manner, against the ground, and continues to do so even for some time after they are dead; and it then swal lows them entire, beginning with the head. It treats mice in the same manner ; but it refuses to meddle with birds that are too large to be swallowed at once. It is a native of Paraguay.