TROGONS. 



19 



Indian Trogons. 



ing as far west as the forests of the Knysna district. On the west coast, from 

 Fanti to the Gabun, we meet with Ussher's trogon {H. constantia) ; while in East 

 Africa, from the Zanzibar forest region into Kikuyu, is found the banded trogon 



(H. vittatum). Very little 

 has been noted about the 

 habits of these birds, but 

 Mr. Layard states that the 

 Narina trogon is a very 

 shy species, only found in 

 the forest districts ; its food 

 consisting of fruit and in- 

 sects ; while its cry is a 

 loud moaning note, heot, 

 which has been compared 

 to the bark of a poodle 

 with a cold. This trogon 

 is reported to nest in hollow 

 trees, where it lays four 

 white eggs. 



The In- 

 dian trogons, 

 constituting the genus 

 Harpactes, are beautifully 

 plumaged birds, distin- 

 guished by the bare sides 

 of the face, and the chest- 

 nut tail, barred with black at the tip, of both sexes. 

 The genus is represented by eleven species, some of 

 which measure as much as a foot in length ; while 

 all are characterised by their brilliant coloration. 

 One of the best known is the red-headed trogon 

 (H. erythrocephalus), characterised by the chestnut 

 breast, the deep crimson head, neck, and under-parts, 

 and the black wings, in which the primaries are edged 

 with white, while the wing-coverts and inner second- 

 aries are finely vermiculated with white ; the gape 

 and region of the eye being bare and of a purplish 

 blue colour, while the bill is bluish with a black tip, 

 the feet pinkish, and the eye dull red. The female is 

 not quite so bright in colour as the male, the lower- 

 parts being duller ; the back as well as the neck and 

 breast reddish brown, and the vermiculations on the 

 wing-coverts bufi* instead of white. The habits of this trogon differ from those of its 

 American allies, for Mr. Oates says that its food consists entirely of insects, on which 

 it swoops after the manner of a flycatcher. It affects thick forests, and, although 

 solitary in its habits, is so common in some of the hill forests that a dozen or more 



