"Green Humming-Bird" of Sloane (Voyage, ii. p. 306). The name, having been taken up by Brisson (loc. cit.) in 1760, was adopted by Linnæus, and has since been recognized by ornithologists as that of a valid genus, though many species have been referred to it which are now known to have no affinity to the type, the Todus viridis of Jamaica, and accordingly have since been removed from it. The genus Todus was at one time placed among the Muscicapidæ, (cf. Flycatcher, vol. ix. p. 351); but Dr Murie's investigations (Proc. Zool. Society, 1872, pp. 664-680, pi. lv.) have conclusively proved that it is not Passerine, and is nearly allied to the Momotidæ, (cf. Motmot, vol. xvii. p. 3) and Alcedinidæ (cf. Kingfisher, vol. xiv. p. 81), though it should be regarded as forming a distinct Family Todidæ, peculiar to the Greater Antilles, each of which islands has its own species, all of small size, the largest not exceeding four inches and a half in length.
Of the species already named, T. viridis, Mr Gosse (B. Jamaica, pp. 72-80) gives an interesting account. "Always conspicuous from its bright grass-green coat and crimson-velvet gorget, it is still a very tame bird; yet this seems rather the tameness of indifference than of confidence; it will allow a person to approach very near, and, if disturbed, alight on another twig a few yards distant . . . . commonly it is seen sitting patiently on a twig, with the head drawn in, the beak pointing upwards, the loose plumage puffed out, when it appears much larger than it is.
Tody (Todus viridis). (After Gosse.)
It certainly has an air of stupidity when thus seen. But this abstraction is more apparent than real; if we watch it, we shall see that the odd-looking grey eyes are glancing hither and thither, and that ever and anon the bird sallies out upon a short feeble flight, snaps at something in the air, and returns to his twig to swallow it." Mr Gosse goes on to describe the engaging habits of one that he for a short time kept in captivity, which, when turned into a room, immediately began catching all the insects it could, at the rate of about one a minute. The birds of this Family also shew their affinity to the Kingfishers, Motmots, and Bee-eaters by burrowing holes in the ground[1] in which to make their nest, and therein laying eggs with a white translucent shell. The sexes differ little in plumage.
All the four species of Todus, as now restricted, present a general similarity of appearance, and, it may be presumed, possess very similar habits. The genus has been monographed by Mr Sharpe (Ibis, 1874, pp. 344-355); but he was unfortunately misled by an exceptionally bright-coloured specimen to add a fifth and bad species to those that exist and even these, by some ornithologists, might be regarded as geographical races. The Cuban form is T. multicolor; that of Hispaniola is T. subulatus or dominicensis; and that of Porto Rico, originally named in error T. mexicanus, has since been called hypochondriacus. Apart from their structural peculiarities, one of the chief points of interest attaching to the Todidæ is their limitation, not only to the Antillean Sub-region, but, as is now believed, to its greater islands. (a. n.)
TOGA.See Costume, (vol. vi. p. 456).
TOGO-LAND, one of the portions of the African continent under the protection of the German empire. It forms part of the territory on the west coast formerly distinguished as the Slave Coast, and is bounded on the E. by Little Popo, on the S.W. by the British Gold Coast Colony, and on the N.W. by the still independent territory of the Anlo tribes. The coast-line is only 22 miles in length, and with an area of about 500 square miles Togo-land is estimated to have a population of 40,000 souls. The great physical feature of the country is the Togo, Hakko, or Avon lagoon, which is cut off from the ocean by the narrow belt of sandy soil on which are situated Bagida, Porto Seguro, and Bay. The town of Togo lies on the east side of the Togo lagoon, where it extends eastward to Little Popo Lake. The lagoon is fed by a stream from the north, the Haho or Hakko, first discovered by John Duncan in 1846.
See Hugo Zöller, Togoland; Petermann's Mittheilungen (1886); and Scott. Geogr. Mag. (1886), all of which give maps.
TOKAT, a decayed provincial town of Turkey, in the vilayet of Sivas, and capital of the upper basin of the Iris (Yeschil Irmak), is a poorly-built place of about 10,000 inhabitants, in a hot, narrow valley, dominated by the ruins of a Byzantine castle, and surrounded by gardens watered by the Iris. It was once an important commercial station, and has still copper foundries. Six miles up the valley are the ruins of the Pontic Comana (q.v.).
TOKAY, or Tokaj, a small town in the county of Zemplén, in the north-east of Hungary, at the influx of the Bodrog into the Tisza, in 48° 7′ N. lat., 21° 4′ E. long. The slopes of the adjacent mountains of Hegyallya, which are of volcanic origin, produce excellent wine, several kinds of which are of perhaps the best, sweetest, and strongest quality in the world. Of these, however, none or hardly any come into the market, the wine usually sold under the name of Tokay not being a natural wine, and often not coming from the district at all. Tokay, along with about twenty-five neighbouring villages, produces annually an average of 2,200,000 gallons. The vine culture has been greatly improved of late years by a company in Budapest. The timber trade, fishing, and export of fruits are also considerable. The population was 4479 in 1880.
TOKIO, formerly called Yedo, the present capital of the empire of Japan, is situated in 35° 41′ N. lat. and 139° 46′ E. long., at the head of the bay of the same name, on the south-east coast of Hondo (mainland), the largest of the group of Japanese islands. It is connected with the seaport of Yokohama by a railway 18 miles in length. The bay of Tokio is shallow, and therefore not well suited for the navigation of large vessels. The wide river Sumida, also called Ôkawa ("great river") near its mouth, runs through the town. For administrative purposes Tokio proper is divided into fifteen ku (districts), of which thirteen lie to the west and two to the east of the Sumida. Each ku is presided over by an official appointed by the Government, called the ku-chio (chief of the ku), and an assembly (Ku-Kwai) for local administrative purposes is elected every four years by the inhabitants. These ku and
- ↑ This habit and their green colour has given them the French name of Perroquet or Todier de terre, by which they have been distinguished from other species wrongly assigned to the genus by some systematists; and, if we may believe certain French travellers, they must in former days have inhabited some of the Lesser Antilles; but that is hardly probable.
