THE LONG-TAILED TROGON. 367 



\ihe river the path becomes very precipitous, and we continue to climb till we reach the foot of a rock, 

 where we find a deserted rancho, and take possession. A fire having been, made to heat the pixtones, 

 we dine, and afterwards start for the forest close by to look for Quesals. On entering, the path takes 

 the unpleasant form of a succession of felled trees, which are slippery from recent rains, and render 

 progress slow. My companions are ahead, and I am j\\st balancing myself along the last trunk, when 

 Filipe comes back to say that they have heard a Quesal. Of course, being especially anxious to watch 

 as well as to shoot one of these birds myself, I immediately hurry to the spot. I sit down upon my 

 wide-awake in most approved style close to Cipriano, who is calling the bird, and wait, all eyes and 

 cars, for the result. I have not to wait long. A distant clattering note indicates that the bird is 

 on the wing. He settles a splendid male on a bough of a tree, not seventy yards from where 

 we are hidden. Cipriano wants to creep up to within shot, \mt I keep him back, wishing to risk 

 the. chance of losing a specimen rather than miss such an opportunity of seeing the bird in its living 

 state, and of watching its movements. It sits almost motionless on its perch, the body remaining in. 

 the same position, the head only moving slowly 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 occasionally 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, hovers for a moment, plucks the berry, and returns to 

 his former position. This is done with a degree of elegance that defies description. The remaivk has 

 often been made by persons looking at stuffed Humming-birds, ' What lovely little things these must 

 look in life, when they are flying about ! ' But they do not. Place a Humming-bird twenty yards 

 from you, and Avhat do you see of its colours, except in the most favourable position and light 1 This 

 is not the case with the Quesal. The rich metallic green of the head, back, and tail-coverts reflects its 

 colour in every position, whilst the deep scarlet of the breast and the white of the tail show vividly at 

 a distance, and contrast with the principal colour of the body. The living Quesal sti'ikes the eye by 

 its colour at once. It stands unequalled for splendour among birds of the New World, and is hardly 

 surpassed among those of the Old. Such are my reflections, when a low whistle from Cipriano calls 

 the bird nearer, and a moment afterwards it is in my hand the first Quesal I have seen and shot. 



" The cries of the Quesal are various. They consist principally of a low double note, ' whe-oo t 

 wfie-oo,' which the bird repeats, whistling it softly at first, and then gradually swelling it into a loud 

 but not unmelodious cry. This is often succeeded by a long note, which begins low, and after swelling, 

 dies away as it began. Both these notes can be easily imitated by the human voice. The bird's other 

 cries are harsh and discordant. They are best imitated by doubling a pliant leaf over the first fingers, 

 which must be held about two inches apart. The two edges of the leaf being then placed in the mouth, 

 and the breath drawn in, the required sound is produced. Cipriano was an adept at imitating these 

 cries, but I failed in producing them for want of practice. When searching for Quesals, the hunter 

 whistles as he walks along, here and there sitting down and repeating the other notes. As soon as 

 he hears a bird answering at a distance he stops, and imitates the bird's cries until it has approached 

 near enough to enable him either to shoot it from where he stands, or to creep up to within shot. The 

 female generally flies up first, and perches on a tree near the hunter, who takes no notice of her, but 

 continues calling till the male, who usually quickly follows the female, appears. Should the male not 

 show himself, the hunter will sometimes shoot the female. Thus it is that so large a proportion of 

 males are shot. The flight of the Quesal is rapid and straight ; the long tail-feathers, which never 

 seem to be in his way, stream after him. The bird is never found except in forests composed of the 

 highest trees, the lower branches of which (i.e., those at about two-thirds of the height of the tree from 

 the ground) seem to be its favourite resort. Its food consists principally of fruit, but occasionally a 

 caterpillar may be found in its stomach." 



The distinguishing character of this fine Trogon is the long tail of the male bird, which measures 

 about three feet in length. The colour of the upper parts is golden green, as well as the throat and 

 fore neck ; the breast is bright scarlet, and is overshadowed by some beautiful drooping plumes, which 

 spring from the shoulders, and hang gracefully over the wings ; the outer tail-feathers are white, with 

 black bases, and the bill is yellow. The female has a black bill, and is much smaller, and she does not 

 possess the long tail and decorative plumes of the male. 



