Trogosid.«.- 



-BIRDS.- 



-The Resplendent Trogon. 



295 



the hMi>ical parts of South America, is about tlie size 

 of our common blackbird ; its general colour is green, 

 but tlie face, and a spot in tlic middle of the breast, are 

 black, and the head is blue. 



Little is known of the habits of these birds, as tboj' 

 are solitary in their disposition, residing, usually in 

 pairs, in tlie deepest recesses of the forests. They 

 feed principally upon insects, wliich they capture by 

 pouncing down upou them suddenly. Besides insects, 

 however, they are said occasionally to devour small 

 snakes and lizards, and even small birds, and some- 

 times to feed upon fruits. They are said by some 

 writers to nestle in the holes of trees, by others to bur- 

 row in the ground ; if tlie latter be true, the barbs of 

 the long tail feathers might possibly be worn away by 

 friction against the sides of their narrow tunnel. 



Family IV.— TROGONID^. 



The Trogonidse, or Couroucous, as they are some- 

 times called, from the name given by the natives of 

 South America to some of the species inhabiting that 

 continent, and which is said to be an exact imitation 

 of their cry, are distinguished from the preceding 

 fomilies, by having die toes of unequal length, and 

 arranged, as in the scansorial birds, in two pairs. 

 They have a stout bill, broader than high, so that it 

 presents a triangular form when seen from above ; the 

 edges of the mandibles are sometimes strongly serrated, 

 sometimes smooth nearly to the tip, and there furnished 

 wiih a single tooth. 



The Trogonidae are all inhabitants of tropical 

 regions, and the majority of them belong to the New 

 World, although several species, distinguished by 

 peculiar characters, are found in India and the Eastern 

 islands. One species, also, scarcely distinguishable 

 geuerically from tlie American forms, is an inhabitant 

 of Southern Africa. They are usually adorned with 

 brOliant metallic colours, inhabit the thickest parts 

 of the forests, and feed principally upon insects, which 

 they frequently capture on the wing. Some of the 

 species also eat fruits. 



THE COUEOUCOU {Tronnn Ciirucui), an abundant 

 species in Guiana and Brazil, measures ten or eleven 

 inches in length, and is generally of a fine brilliant 

 green colour, with the breast and belly of a beautiful 

 red ; the wing-coverts are bluish-grey, marked with 

 undulated black lines ; the tail, which is wedge-shaped, 

 is green, except the two outer feathers on each side, 

 which are blackish, crossed with small gi-ey transverse 

 lines. 



The name of this bird is derived, as previously 

 indicated, from its peculiar melancholy note, which is 

 described by diflerent authors as resembling the word 

 conroiicouais so exactly, that, whilst the natives of 

 Brazil give it this name, the Indians of Guiana merely 

 drop the c, and call the bird Ouroucouais. The 

 Couroucou is found in the deepest recesses of the 

 forests, especially at the breeding season, when the 

 male employs the above-mentioned melancholy note to 

 express his feelings towards his mate. In April, 

 when the breeding se'.son conmiences, the birds seek 

 out a suitable hole i*" a tree, which they adapt to their 



purpose, by means of their bills, lining the bottom of 

 the cavity with the powdered rotten wood which they 

 disengage from the sides. Upon the bed thus formed, 

 the female lays tliree or four eggs about the size of 

 those of a pigeon. Whilst the female is sitting, the 

 male perches on a branch close at hand, and con- 

 tinually emits his tender cooing notes. At other 

 times the male is silent, and both sexes frequently 

 percli for a long time, perfectly motionless upon a 

 branch, and puft" out the long loose feathers with 

 which their bodies are clothed to such an extent, that 

 while their bulk is scarcely greater than that of a 

 thrush, they look as large as a pigeon. Thej' feed 

 upon worms, insects, and caterpillars. 



THE CUBA TROGON {Trogon temiiiims), which is 

 of about the same size as the preceding species, has 

 the crown of the bead of a violet-blue colour, the upper 

 surface of the body brilliant metallic-green, the throat 

 and breast greyish-white, and the belly vermillion. 

 The scapulars and the great coverts of the wings are 

 green, with a white spot near the extremity of each 

 feather ; the quill feathers of the wings are black, 

 adorned with white spots, and those of the tail green 

 or blue, spotted with white. This bird is chiefly 

 remarkable for the peculiar form of the tail, eacli 

 feather of which is truncated at the extremity, with its 

 exterior angle produced outwards, so that, as the 

 gerieral form of the tail is, or rather would be, wedge- 

 shaped, its whole apical half is surrounded by a series 

 of pohits. It is a beautiful species, which has only 

 hitherto been found in Cuba, where it is very common 

 in the woods. Its note, which is heard in the morning 

 and evening, is described as resembling the syllables 

 tocorr. This species is said to feed upon vegetable 

 substances. It sits in a very passive state upon the 

 branches, so that it is easily killed; and great numbers 

 are destroyed for the table, their flesh being very good. 



THE RESPLENDENT TROGON (Trogon reqdeiiilens) 

 — Plate 7, fig. 20 — which has been placed by many 

 authors with several nearly allied species in a distinct 

 genus, to which the name of Calurus is given, is 

 distinguished from the preceding species, partly by 

 the presence of a large crest ot delicate feathers on the 

 head, and partly by the great development of the 

 upper tail-coverts, which conceal the tail, and hang 

 down in the form of long delicate plumes of great 

 elegance. 



The male of this Trogon is one of the most magni- 

 ficent of birds. The head and throat are of a goUen 

 bronze colour ; the neck and breast, the back, and the 

 wing and tail-coverts, are of tlie most brilliant golden 

 gi'cen ; the wings themselves are black, or blackish, 

 setting off the splendour of the wing-coverts in the 

 most striking manner ; whilst the whole of the belly 

 and the lower tailcoverts are of a beautiful crimson 

 tint. The feathers of the tail are black. Of the 

 elongated tail-coverts, the two middle ones are the 

 longest, but the whole are most delicate and beautiful, 

 being composed of long loose barbs, gradually dimin- 

 ishing to the apex of the feather, and hanging in the 

 most graceful manner. The species is found in Brazil 

 and Peru, where it is employed by the natives as an 

 ornament ; the Peruvian ladies being especially fond 



