572 The Roller-like Birds 



latter birds it is the first and second, instead of the first and fourth, toes that are 

 directed backward. The manner in which the toes are supplied with tendons 

 is also peculiar. While this arrangement of the toes theoretically adapts the 

 Trogons for climbing after the manner of Woodpeckers, they are really never 

 so used, being only employed for perching. Of the other characters which per- 

 tain to the Trogons it may be mentioned that the palate is of the split (schizog- 

 nathous) form, the blind appendages to the intestines are present, and the oil- 

 gland is naked, while there are no down feathers. 



For the most part Trogons are birds of the densest forests, where they seek 

 the upper parts of the highest trees, rarely coming down to the lower branches 

 and almost never visiting the ground, although Dr. Richmond mentions one spe- 

 cies observed by him in Nicaragua that seemed to prefer the borders of the 

 forests, and on one or two occasions was seen quite a fourth of a mile from the 

 nearest forest, and he also states that on one occasion one of these birds flew 

 into his house. Their flight while rapid is rather weak and is not usually ex- 

 tended for any great distance. When the flight is for some distance it is an 

 undulating motion after the manner of Woodpeckers or our common Goldfinch. 

 They are on the whole rather solitary birds and even when mated the members 

 of a couple are often separated by a distance of fifty yards or more. They often 

 remain motionless for a long time, and when alighting on a large branch are said 

 to sink down until the bright color of the lower part of the body is concealed, 

 and as the green of the upper parts harmonizes with the surrounding foliage 

 it is often a matter of difficulty to detect them. The food habits of the American 

 Trogons are quite different from those of the Old World, the former subsisting 

 almost entirely on fruits of various kinds, which they secure in large part while 

 on the wing, fluttering before the fruit like a Flycatcher, or if it is not easily 

 detached they may alight on the branch and taking the coveted fruit in their bill 

 they pull backward with a great fluttering of the wings until it is secured. They 

 also take insects, but only to a limited extent, while the Old World forms appear 

 to subsist largely on an insect diet, most of which is secured on the wing, but 

 they also take caterpillars. The nesting habits of the Trogons are very simple, 

 since they apparently all nest in hollow trees, either selecting a natural cavity of 

 suitable size or to some extent excavate one in soft, rotten wood. The eggs, 

 usually three or four in number, are so far as known pure white or pale bluish, 

 and deposited on the chips and rotten wood at the bottom of the cavity. 



The suborder Trogones includes but one family, the Trogonidtz, and the sixty 

 species are disposed among ten genera, one of which (Arduzotrogon) is fossil. 

 Tropical America is the center of distribution since fully two thirds of the species 

 are found there, among them the so-called typical Trogons (Trogon) to the num- 

 ber of twenty-five forms. There seems to be little or no structural difference 

 between the American and Old World forms, although, as above pointed out, 

 their habits appear to differ somewhat. 



Quezal. Beyond doubt the most beautiful of all the Trogons and by many 

 regarded as the most beautiful bird of the Western Hemisphere, if not the most 

 beautiful of all birds, is the splendid Quezai (Pharomacrus mocinno) of Central 



