. Natural history. For the use of schools and families. Zoology. 154 NATUEAL HISTOET. bling red sealing-wax in color. The wing is represented in Fig. Fig. 125—Wing of WaxwiDg. 254. The third division of the Perchers is that of the Fissirostres. The characteristics of this tribe were men- tioned in § 236. These, as you have seen, appeared to some extent in some of the Dentirostres, especially the family of Fly-catchers. The adaptation of the wide, gaping mouth, with its bristles at the sides, to the cap- ture of insects in flight, is obvious. Some of the larger species of this tribe, howe
. Natural history. For the use of schools and families. Zoology. 154 NATUEAL HISTOET. bling red sealing-wax in color. The wing is represented in Fig. Fig. 125—Wing of WaxwiDg. 254. The third division of the Perchers is that of the Fissirostres. The characteristics of this tribe were men- tioned in § 236. These, as you have seen, appeared to some extent in some of the Dentirostres, especially the family of Fly-catchers. The adaptation of the wide, gaping mouth, with its bristles at the sides, to the cap- ture of insects in flight, is obvious. Some of the larger species of this tribe, however, live on fish. There are six families—the Goatsuckers, the Swallows, the Todies, the Trogons, the Kingfishers, and the Bee-eaters. L 255. The Goatsuckers, of which you have an example in Fig. 118, are for the most part nocturnal, and they have the soft plumage and dull colors so characteristic of those nocturnal birds of prey, the Owls. They sally forth in the evening when the Fly-catchers and Swallows have retired to rest, and, like the Bats, skim about in the air, mostly near the ground. But while the Bats capture such hard-cased insects as beetles, the Goatsuckers take into their gaping mouths the soft-bodied moths. When these are once in the mouth they can not escape, for the bristles fence them in, and the thick saliva which is there envelops them. The foot of this bird is curiously con- structed. The hind toe, as in the Owls, can be brouo-bt. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Hooker, Worthington, 1806-1867. New York, Harper & Brothers
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1883
