THE RESPLENDENT TROGON. 



Yp}\ESPLENDENT Trogons are 

 I "v^X natives of Central America. 

 \ There are fifty kinds, and 

 J- 5 V, ^ this is the largest. A 

 systematic account of the superb tribe 

 has been given by Mr. Gould, the 

 only naturalist who has made him 

 self fully acquainted with them. 



Of all birds there are few which 

 excite so much admiration as the 

 Resplendent Trogon. 



The skin is so singularly thin that 

 it has been not inaptly compared to 

 wet blotting paper, and the plumage 

 has so light a hold upon the skin 

 that when the bird is shot the feathers 

 are plentifully struck from their 

 sockets by its fall and the blows 

 which it receives from the branches as 

 it comes to the ground. 



Its eggs, of a pale bluish-green, 

 were first procured by Mr. Robert 

 Owen. Its chief home is in the 

 mountains near Coban in Vera Paz, 

 but it also inhabits forests in othei 

 parts of Guatemala at an elevation 

 of from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. 



From Mr. Salvin's account of his 

 shooting in Vera Paz we extract the 

 following hunting story : 



"My companions are ahead and 

 Filipe comes back to say that they 

 have heard a quesal, (Resplendent 

 Trogon). Of course, being anxious 

 to watch as well as to shoot one of 

 these birds myself, I immediately 

 hurry to the spot. I have not to 

 wait long. A distant clattering 

 noise indicates that the bird is on 

 the wing. He settles a splendid 

 male on the bough of a tree not 

 seventy yards from where we are 

 hidden. It sits almost motionless on 

 its perch, the body remaining in the 

 same position, the head only moving 

 from side to side. The tail does not 

 hang quite perpendicularly, the angle 



between the true tail and the vertical 

 being perhaps as much as fifteen or 

 twenty degrees. The tail is occasion 

 ally jerked open and closed again, 

 and now and then slightly raised, 

 causing the long tail coverts to vibrate 

 gracefully. I have not seen all. A 

 ripe fruit catches the quesal's eye 

 and he darts from his perch, plucks 

 the berry, and returns to his former 

 position. This is done with a degree 

 of elegance that defies description. A 

 low whistle from Capriano calls the 

 bird near, and a moment afterward it is 

 in my hand the first quesal I have 

 seen and shot." 



The above anecdote is very beauti 

 ful and graphic, but we read the last 

 sentence with pain. We wish to go 

 on record with this our first number 

 as being unreconciled to the ruthless 

 killing of the birds. He who said, 

 not a sparrow "shall fall on the 

 ground without your Father," did 

 not intend such birds to be killed, but 

 to beautify the earth. 



The cries of the quesal are 

 various. They consist principally of a 

 low note, whe-oo, whe-oo, which the 

 bird repeats, whistling it softly at 

 first, then gradually swelling it 

 into a loud and not unmelodious cry. 

 This is often succeeded by a long note, 

 which begins low and after swelling 

 dies away as it began. Other cries are 

 harsh and discordant. The flight of the 

 Trogon is rapid and straight. The 

 long tail feathers, which never seem 

 to be in the way, stream after him. 

 The bird is never found except in 

 forests of the loftiest trees, the 

 lower branches of which, being high 

 above the ground, seem to be its 

 favorite resort. Its food consists 

 principally of fruit, but occasionally 

 a caterpillar is found in its stomach. 



