TROGONS. 



Sub-Family. 

 THE TROGONS PROPER. TROGONIN^E. 



The Trogons proper, the 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 perfectly 

 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 only birds whose toes 

 arc 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 an- 

 terior are by far the longest, and are connected together for nearly 

 half their length: 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 arc met with in India and the East- 

 ern islands, as well as in South Africa. They live solitarily in the 

 gloomy shades of forests, where they may be seen motionless 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 

 Avhich they principally subsist. Their flight is rapid and undula- 

 ting, but is not prolonged to any considerable distance. 



On the banks of the Amazon these birds are very numerous, 

 differing in size from the Trogon viridis, a small species whose 

 body is scarcely bigger than one of our sparrows, to the Curugua 

 grande {Calurns aiiriceps), twice the size of a jay. All have spread- 

 ing tails, and their loose plumage makes them look of greater 

 dimensions than they really are. At intervals they utter a mourn- 

 ful note, well imitated by their common name, Curugua. This 

 cry would inevitably betray them to the hunter, but they are 

 admirable ventriloquists, and it is often impossible to discover 

 them, even when directly above the head of their pursuer. The 

 species vary as much in colour as in size, but the backs of all arc 

 of a resplendent green or blue, while beneath they are conspicu- 

 ously ornamented with red, or pink, or yellow. In the pairing 



