THE TROGONS.* 



Tlio Trogoiis, forming a group of riclily-coloured birds, abouiul in South Aincric'ii, where 

 they conceal themselves in the central solitudes of umbrageous forests, and, except during 

 the breeding season, dwell insulated and alone. They will sit motionless for half a 

 summer's day, often upon a withered branch, and if not concealed by some accidental inter- 

 vening mass of foliage, they fall an easy prey to the keen-ej^ed hunter, who eagerly 

 searches for birds not less remarkable for the delicacy of their flesh than the beauty of 

 their plumage. During the morning and evening hours, Mr. Swainson informs us, they 

 become more active ; venturing at these times into the oj^en parts of the forest, and taking 

 a shady station, dart upon winged insects, particularly beetles. At other times they feed 

 upon fruits, especially the rich purj^le berries of the diflferent Melitsfonifc, " at which," he 

 says, " they invariably dart, jireciscly as if they were insects capable of getting awaj'." It 

 has been remarked by the woodland hunters, that the skin of these birds is of such delicate 

 texture as to be with difficulty preserved in a natural or complete condition. It is probable 

 for this reason that in museums they exhibit a heavy, shapeless aspect, redeemed, it is 

 true, by the gorgeous colours or metallic splendour of their plumage. 



Mr. Swainson acknowledges that the trogonidoc, or trogons, are, in one sense, such an 



UEAD OF THE TROGON. 



isolated group, that zoologists have been much perplexed in what natural familj' to 

 arrange them ; and he remarks, that Cuvier, in placing them near to the pufl-birds, 

 seems to have had some perception of what Mr. Swainson believes to be their true station 

 in nature, although both these groups find a place among his climbing birds. "Mv. 

 Vigors," he observes, " in his ' Natural Arrangement,' first placed the genus Trof/oii 

 between Crofop/iar/a and Cnri/tliai.r with a mark of doubt, but subsequently arranged tliem 

 near the parrots. The Trogons," says Mr. Swainson in continuation, " are abundant in 

 South America ; and arc pcrliaps, one of the most extraordinary genera found in that 

 continent. They are not climbing-birds, nor are they in the least organised for that 

 purpose ; they live in the deepest and most gloomy shades during day, when they sit 

 almost motionless on a dead braiuh. The singular account of those birds given by our 

 hunters first awakened our attention to tlicm in their native regions ; and those results 

 have since been fully confirmed by the observations made on those species peculiar to 

 Demcrara by Mr. "WatcHcin, a well-known aiul observing iield-nalnralist. Finally, the 

 trogons, like the goat-suckers, have remarkably thin skins ; like tliem, they feed upon 

 the wing ; the feet of both are so short and feeble as scarcely to bo of any other use 



* Trogon. — f.imi. Couroiuouis. 



