TROGONID.E. 28o 



SUB- FAMILY. 

 TrogoniN/E. TJte Troyons jjroper. 



Tlie Trogons proper (tlie only sub-family of this 

 group), like the Toucans and the Cuckoos, have two 

 toes in front and two behind, and on this account 

 are not unfrequently regarded as belonging to the 

 Scansorial order; but the hinder toes are placed 

 perfectl}^ posteriorly, and as, from the manner of 

 their connection with the foot, they are incapable 

 of being moved from their ordinary position, the 

 Trogons may be regarded as the on»y birds whose 

 toes are absolutely in pairs. They are perhaps the 

 most sedentary birds in creation, and hence their 

 feet are the weakest, and seem to be constructed 

 for the sole purpose of sitting still. In addition to 

 their toes being in pairs, it may be remarked that 

 the two anterior are by far the longest, and are 

 connected together for nearly half their tength : the 

 two posterior toes are separated, and the outer one 

 is nearly half the length of the inner. 



These splendid birds are many of them peculiar 

 to tropical America, but several species are met 

 with in India and the Eastern islands, as well as in 

 South Africa. They live solitarily in the gloomy 

 shades of forests, where they may be seen motion- 

 less on the branches, among the thickest foliage, 

 during the heat of the day ; but early in the morning 

 and in the evening they seek the more open though 

 still shady parts, and take up some position from 

 which they can see and dart after the insects flying 

 near, on which they principally subsist. Their flight 

 is rapid and undulating, but is not prolonged to any 

 considerable distance. 



On the banks of the Amazon these birds are very 

 numerous, difl'ering in size from the Trogon vivid is, a 

 small species whose body is scarcely bigger than one 



