LIFE HISTORY OF THE QUETZAL—SKUTCH 273 
quensis) ; but they are decidedly uncommon among denizens of heavy 
forest. I know no other trogon, nor any bird of the tropical rain- 
forest at whatever altitude, which indulges in such exercises. The 
gliding flights of the guans (Penelope purpurascens and Chamaepetes 
unicolor) , in the midst of which they produce drumming sounds with 
their wings, are of quite distinct character. 
One afternoon in early March, I watched in a narrow clearing in the 
forest, in the midst of which stood a tall decaying trunk, where a pair 
of quetzals were interested in a possible nest site. As the sun sank 
low, I heard mingled mellow calls and whines float out of the bordering 
woodland. Presently the male rushed out into the clearing, flying in a 
wild, dashing, irregular fashion, his long, loose, green wing-covert and 
tail-covert plumes vibrating madly, shouting wac-wac-wac-wac way-ho 
way-ho. This appeared to be a distinct kind of flight display, accom- 
panied by a somewhat altered call. 
I have heard tell of flocks of quetzals in the Costa Rican highlands, 
but have never seen such an aggregation. When I arrived at Vara 
Blanca in early July, the quetzals were probably still nesting, although 
IT found no nests until the following year. I saw a number, chiefly 
single individuals, during that month; but in August and early Sep- 
tember I met none, and I began to suspect they had migrated from the 
region. But in the second fortnight of September I encountered two. 
Yet from August to the following February they were very little in 
evidence; and the few that I saw were mostly silent and alone. It was 
not until late February or early March that quetzals appeared to become 
abundant in the vicinity. It is not impossible that there had been an 
influx of individuals into the locality, but I suspect that their apparent 
increase in number resulted from their greater activity, and above all, 
the more frequent use of their voices. The quetzal, for all his glitter- 
ing splendor, is not easy to detect as he perches quietly among lofty 
boughs smothered in air plants. 
By the first week of March the birds seemed quite generally to have 
paired. Once I saw four flying through the shady pasture together, 
but these appeared to be rivals rather than members of a flock. Pos- 
sibly the quetzals at times gather in numbers about a tree that offers 
an abundance of fruit; and in the mating season, several rival males 
may call from the same part of the forest, as with other trogons. 
Nevertheless I doubt if they form true flocks, which appear not to 
exist among the American members of the family. 
THE NEST AND EGGS 
The quetzal nests in a hole in a decaying trunk, upright or slightly 
leaning. This may be situated within the forest, or in an adjoining 
clearing, sometimes as much as a hundred yards from the woodland 
