448 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



Fig. 174. Resplendent Trogons. 



in the enjoyment of all 

 their vigour. He says 

 that, having taken live 

 Barbets from a nest, one 

 of which was so old that 

 it could not stand on its 

 legs, and having enclosed 

 them in a cage, " the four 

 healthy Barbets hastened 

 to give food to the one 

 lying in a dying state in 

 -a corner of the cage." 

 He adds that the nest 

 from which he had taken 

 them was filled with husks 

 and the remains of insects, 

 which led him to think 

 that the old invalid had 

 been fed a long time by 

 these kind and thought- 

 ful birds. If this is true, 

 it is worthy the attention 

 of moralists. The best 

 known of this family is 

 the Collared Barbet (Bucco 

 collaris, Fig. 173). The 

 Barbets have a curious 

 habit of raising all their 

 plumage till they look like 

 a ball of feathers ; from 

 this peculiarity they have 

 gained the name of Puff- 

 birds. 



Trogons, like Barbets, 

 have the bases of their 

 beaks covered with hairs. 

 Their soft and silky plu- 

 mage glitters with the 

 most brilliant hues, and 

 their tails are extremely 

 long. They very strongly 

 resemble the birds of night 



