THE BIRDS OF HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN" REPUBLIC 277 



Miranda ) .—Peters, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 61, 1917, p. 413 ( ChocS ) .— Beebe, 

 Zool. Soc. Bull., vol. 30, 1927, p. 140; Beneath Tropic Seas, 1928, p. 221 (Mira- 

 goane).— Bond, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 80, 1928, p. 504 

 (Miragoane, La Hotte, La Selle, Haut Piton, Ennery ; eggs). — Danforth, Auk, 

 1929, p. 36S (Bonao). — Lonnberg, Fauna och Flora, 1929, p. 104 (Haiti). — 

 Moltoni, Att. Soc. Ital. Scienz. Nat., vol. 6S, 1929, p. 318 (Bonao, Monte Vie jo, 

 specimens). 



Resident in the hills and mountains ; locally common. 



In travel along the wilder trails through the hills of Hispaniola 

 there may come to the ear a curious cooing call suggesting the note 

 of a pigeon but at the same time differing from the sound produced 

 by any of the familiar species of that group. The call is ventrilo- 

 quial and seems to arise first from one side and then from another. 

 Finally there is a glimpse of a bird in black silhouette, resting in 

 shadow on some open limb, with body erect and tail hanging straight 

 down. No color is visible and it is a pleasurable surprise when one 

 of the birds pitches to a lower perch or is brought into closer view 

 by the aid of binoculars and the colors of the plumage flash out 

 brilliantly, the clear red of the abdomen sharply marked from the 

 gray of the breast, and the back a shimmering green. 



Trogons frequent both deciduous trees and pines and in places 

 are common so that their calls are heard constantly through the day. 

 In the hand, where the delicate white barring on the wing may be 

 admired, the feathers are found to be lax and loose and the skin 

 extremely tender so that the preparation of specimens for museum 

 study is a matter of considerable care. 



Salle, familiar with the trogon during his early travels in the 

 Dominican Republic, says that they utilize old woodpecker holes as 

 nesting sites, and that their eggs are white (an inaccurate statement) 

 and much rounded. He says that the natives called them piragua, 

 though to-day they are usually known in Spanish as papagayo. Cory 

 found them common in the forested hills above La Vega where he 

 secured fifteen specimens from August 6 to 12, 1883. He speaks 

 of them as local in occurrence which is true so far as the lower 

 sections of the island are concerned. Cherrie encountered them only 

 at Aguacate where he collected eight skins. Christy did not see the 

 bird and listed it only from native reports. His statement that it 

 was found near " Harabajoa," which is quoted in the range given bj 

 Mr. Ridgway 7 refers to the well-known town of Jarabacoa. Verrill 

 found the trogon in the pine forests near La Vega and Miranda 

 but speaks of it as shy and difficult to procure. Peters working on 

 the north coast saw it only at Choco, where he recorded one March 

 25, 1916. 



To W. L. Abbott we are indebted for an excellent series of this 

 beautiful bird, specimens being taken as follows: near Jarabacoa 



7 U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, p. 792. 



