322 . ZOOLOGY. 



of handsome birds, with remarkably wide and strong bills which are said to 

 be used in the capture of coleopterous insects, upon which these birds 

 subsist. No one of the species is very common in collections, though the 

 Eurylaimus nasutus is frequent. It lives in the retired and shaded 

 -jungles, where it constructs a pendent nest, usually in the neighborhood of 

 the water. 



Sub-fam. 4. Momotince, or Motmots. Bill long, elevated, and broad at 

 the base, with the sides compressed, and the margins serrated. Wings 

 short, rounded ; tail long, graduated, with the two middle feathers usually 

 much the longest, and generally with their shafts bare for a considerable 

 distance ; tarsi and feet moderate. Size moderate, much larger than 

 either of the two last sub-families ; colors brilliant. 



This is a sub-family consisting of some twelve or thirteen species of 

 beautiful birds, which are restricted to the warmer parts of America. 

 They prefer the shades of the forest, but seem occasionally to frequent 

 des-erted or dilapidated buildings. They feed indiscriminately upon fruits, 

 snakes, lizards, and insects, which are taken with the point of the bill and 

 tossed upwards to be caught in the extended mouth. It is said that they 

 also rob the nests of other birds. The Brazilian motmot (Momotus 

 hrasiliensis) is the most common species, being very abundant in Brazil 

 and other countries of South America. Several species have been found 

 in Mexico and the West Indies. 



Fam. 4. Trogonid^, or Trogons. Geiieral form stout, but rather 

 graceful. Bill short, strong, broad at the base, with the tip hooked ; 

 nostrils basal generally, and concealed by the projecting feathers. Plumage 

 very beautiful. 



This family is composed of a few genera of handsome birds, most 

 numerous in tropical America and Asia, one species alone having been 

 found in Africa. 



Sub-fam. 1. Trogoninoi, or true Trogons, of America. Bill short, strong, 

 with the base very broad and nostrils concealed ; wings short ; tail ample, 

 sometimes long ; tarsi short and feathered ; plumage of the head frequently 

 elongated and crest-like. Colors brilliant metallic green and red. 



These splendid birds are peculiar to tropical America. They are 

 represented by travellers as solitary and quiet birds, remaining within the 

 dense foliage of the tropical forests, and feeding upon both fruits and 

 insects. Beetles are their favorite food, upon which as well as berries they 

 dart in the manner of swallows. Incubation is performed in hollow trees, 

 in which no nests are built, but the eggs are laid upon the bare wood. 



About thirty species of the Trogons are known to inhabit South , 

 America and Mexico, all of which possess much beauty of plumage ; but 

 thei'e is a small genus (Calurus) remarkable for the great length of the 

 upper tail-coverts, which are amongst the most splendid of birds. The C 

 resplendens is a species found in Yucatan, and is the bird alluded to by 

 Stephens as having been considered sacred by the ancient inhabitants of 

 that country. It has the tail-coverts developed to several times th length 

 of its body, and the whole plumage of the most beautiful metallic green 

 526 



