CHAPTEK IX. 



THE PICARIAN BIRDS, concluded. 



TROGONS TO OIL-BIRDS. 

 Families TuoGONiD^; to S 



THE trogons, remarkable for their brilliant coloration and soft plumage, 

 constitute not only a distinct family (Trogonidce) but are likewise regarded as 

 representing a special suborder (Heterodactyli), mainly distinguished from the 

 Picarian families described in the preceding chapters by the structure of the 

 tendons of the foot. In these birds the second toe is turned backwards, and 

 the third and fourth toes are moved by the splitting of one tendon, while a 

 second tendon is likewise divided into two branches to supply the first and second 

 toes. They are further characterised by having the palate of the slit (schizo- 

 gnathous) type ; and the feather-tract on the back is continuous in place of being 

 forked. Then, again, we may notice that the hinder border of the breast-bone 

 has four notches; the intestine is provided with a pair of blind appendages 

 (caeca) ; the oil-gland is naked, and the after-shafts of the feathers of the body 

 are remarkable for their length. Behind the head is a patch of loose skin, and 

 the whole skin is of such a fragile and delicate nature, while the feathers are so 

 loosely attached, that the preservation of these birds tries to the utmost the skill 

 of the taxidermist. As regards their geographical distribution, trogons are found 

 in the Oriental region, Africa south of the Sahara, and Central and South 

 America; one species alone (Trogon ambiguus) being stated to range as far 

 north as Texas and Arizona. Very numerous in Central and South America, in 

 Africa, though widely distributed, they are but poorly represented in species ; but 

 they again become more abundant in the Oriental region, although not ranging 

 eastwards of the islands of Java and Borneo. Fossil trogons have been discovered 

 in Tertiary deposits in Southern France, belonging to the upper part of the 

 Oligocene period. Of the eight genera into which the family is divided, five 

 occur in Central and South America (among these being the typical Trogon) ; and 

 it is noteworthy that the latter and one other genus are exclusively island forms, 

 the one being confined to San Domingo and the other to Cuba. The three 

 African trogons are comprised in a single genus (ffapaloderma) ; but there are 

 two Oriental genera, one of which (Hapalarpactes) is peculiar to Java and 

 Sumatra. 



Long-Tailed Of these magnificently-plumaged American representatives of the 



Trogons. family there are four species, among which we may specially notice 



