THE TROGONS. 



PLATE XXXIX^ 



Class Aves. Order -Scansorise : climbing birds. Genus 



Trogon. Species Various. There are some ten or 



twelve species already known. 



THE Trogons constitute a family of birds, the members of 

 which are peculiar to the hotter regions of America, and of 

 India, and its adjacent islands, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, &c. y 

 one species only having as yet been discovered in Africa. 

 Among the most conspicuous of the feathered tribes for beauty 

 and brilliancy of plumage, the Trogons stand confessedly pre- 

 eminent. The metallic golden green of some species is of 

 dazzling effulgence ; in others less gorgeous : the delicate 

 pencillings of the plumage, and the contrasted hues of deep 

 scarlet, black, green and brown, produce a rich and beautiful 

 effect. Nor is their shape and contour unworthy of their 

 dress : were they far less elegantly arrayed they would still 

 be pleasing birds. 



It is difficult to convey the idea of a bird, or indeed of any 

 natural object, by description solely : the engraving, however, 

 will render the details connected with the family features of 

 the present group easily intelligible. 



The Trogons are zygodactyle, that is, they have their toes 

 in pairs, two before and two behind, like parrots and wood- 

 peckers ; the tarsi are short and feeble, the beak is stout, and 

 the gape wide ; the general contour of the body is full and 

 round, and the head large ; the plumage is dense, soft, and 

 deep ; the wings are short but pointed, the quill-feathers be- 

 ing rigid ; the tail is long, ample, and graduated, its outer 

 feathers decreasing in length ; in some species, and especially 

 in that brilliant bird the Resplendent Trogon (trogons resplen- 

 denSj Gould), the tail-coverts are greatly elongated, so as to 

 form a beautiful pendent plumage of loose wavy feathers. 



