. 

 240 A YEAR WITH NATURE. 



In the tail of the Ternate Kingfisher I am enabled to illustrate 

 one which is somewhat after the style of the bird last dealt 

 with, but yet on close inspection a variance will be noticeable. 

 It is a graduated tail, and the two middle tail feathers are the 

 longest. This is a gorgeously plumed bird, but a description 

 of its tail feathers must suffice. These are white, margined with 

 cerulean, the two middle ones of the same, proceeding to a 

 narrowness, and ending spatulate, the web of the terminal por- 

 tion being white. It is related that those specimens brought 

 to Europe are very often destitute of the wings and legs. 



Truly a remarkable tail is that of the Mexican Trogon, being 7| 

 inches long ; the two middle tail feathers are green with black tips, 

 the two next on each side wholly black, the three outer on 

 each side black, with white tips. It is a beautiful creature, and 

 one of those wonderful examples of the exquisite touches of 

 splendour which are so often found in the birds of the tropics. 

 We pride ourselves on our beautiful Kingfisher, but our British 

 Birds have not such a gorgeous range of colour as those found 

 in tropical Countries, and we find we are poorly off when we 

 bring such beauties as the Mexican Trogon beside them. The 

 more sombre vegetation and duller skies of Great Britain suggest 

 a more modest garb for the feathered tribe. What we lose in 

 plumage, however, we gain in song, for the birds of the New 

 World do not possess such melodious notes as our own Merle 

 and Mavis, for instance, and England has the sweetest song- 

 sters in the whole world. 



In Fig. 7 we have yet another illustration of one of the Trogon 

 order the Resplendent variety and it is very correctly named as 

 such. This resplendent bird is a picture of dazzling beauty, amongst 

 the colours being golden-green, rich crimson, scarlet, and gam- 

 boge yellow, whilst the middle tail feathers are black, the six 

 outer ones white for nearly their entire length, their bases being 

 black. The length of the longest plume is about three feet. 

 It was of the brilliant feathers of these and other Trogons that 

 the ancient Mexicans made their famous mosaic pictures. 



In the Fan-Tailed Flycatcher we have a tail of a very compact 

 description, but differing from those of the two species which 

 visit the British Isles during the Summer, although in its general 

 habits it much resembles them. It is a native of New Holland, 



