^ m THE COPPEEY-TAILED TROGON. 33 



H. C Benson, Fourth Cavalry, United States Anny, secured a young- male in its 

 first plumage in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, on August 24, 1885, and an 

 adult female was shot in the same vicinity l)y Mr. F. H. Fowler in the first part 

 of August, 1892. Another adult female, which evidently had a nest close by, 

 was obtained by Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, United States Army, on June 23, 1892, on 

 the east side of the San Luis Mountains, close to the Mexican boundary line. 

 The long tail feathers in this specimen are nuich worn and abraded, and look as 

 if the liird had passed consideraljle time in very limited (quarters. Its mate was 

 also seen, but not secured. Judging from the character of the country this 

 species inhabits in southern Arizona, that is pine forest regions, it is probably 

 only a straggler in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and does not l)reed 

 there. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher has kindly furnished me with the following notes on this 

 species: " Soon after arriving at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, I learned tluit the 

 Trogon was not uncommon among the pines in the neighboring mountains. A 

 reliable young man informed me that he had killed three during the previous 

 season (1891), and a rancher who raises fruit in Ramsay Canyon stated that the 

 species visited the gardens in considerable nundjers, especially during the period 

 when cherries Avere ripe. He had noticed the first arrival on May 17. 



" On June 9, in company with Capt. J. L. Fowler and his son Frederick, 

 I made a trip toward the head of Tanner or Garden Canyon, as it is more com- 

 monU' designated in the vicinity. While riding up the shady trail among the 

 pines a beautiful male Trogon flew across the path and alighted among the 

 trees on the opposite side of the narrow canyon. It was impossible to follow it 

 and to pass through the thick underbrush and loose rocks without making con- 

 sideraljle noise, which startled the bird, and it was finally lost among the thick 

 foliage. Higher up in the mountains we heard its peculiar note, which was 

 uttered at regular intervals, and closely resembled that of a hen Turkey. 

 Later in the afternoon, on the way down, another was heard, and by carefully 

 approaching along the hillside a male was discovered sitting on the lower limb 

 of a pine. It sat straight upright, with the tail hanging perpendicular to the 

 body, and wdiile uttering its note the head was thrown backward and the bill 

 extended nearly upward. After watching the bird for a few moments it was 

 secured. The testes were well developed. The stomach contained a few smooth 

 caterpillars." 



The general habits of the Coppery-tailed Trogon probably do not differ 

 much from tli(ise of other members of this family about which a little UKjre 

 is known. According to Gould, who published a magnificent monograph of this 

 family, "Trogons are usually found singl}' or in pairs, and keep mostly in the 

 shade of forest trees, perching on the lower Vunhs of these. During the breeding 

 season they are continually calling to each other, and are called 'Viadns' 

 (Widows) by the Mexicans; they are easily located on this account and ai-e not 

 particularly shy. Their food consists of fruit, grasshoppers, and other insects, 

 and ill tlieir actions while catching the latter they are said to resemble a Fly- 

 catcher, starting and returning from a ])ercli like tlicsc l)irds, and often sitting 

 IG896-NO. 3 3 



