126 THE NARINA TROGON. 



Honduras and Mexico being in the collection of the British Museum. In size it is rather large, 

 measuring fourteen inches in total length. 



In the tinting of the plumage the two sexes are very different from each other, and are 

 colored briefly as follows. In the male, the crown of the head, the back and chest, are a deep 

 rich green, contrasting well with the jetty, glossy black of the ear-coverts and throat ; the 

 breast and abdomen are of a rich scarlet. The ground tint of the centre of the wings is a soft 

 gray, pencilled with exquisitely delicate lines of Jetty black. The quill-feathers of the wing 

 are jetty black, each feather being edged with pure white ; and the quill-feathers of the tail 

 are also black, with the exception of the two central feathers, which are imbued with change- 

 able hues of dark green and purple throughout the greater part of their length, and are tipped 

 with a black patch at the extremity. The bill is light yellow. 



The female bird possesses a more sober plumage than her mate. The upper parts of the 

 body, instead of being richly colored with deep green, are of a dark bluish-gray ; and the 

 wings, instead of being finely pencilled ^vith black upon gray, are powdered with the same 

 tints. The abdomen and breast are scarlet, and the bill is rather curiously colored, the upper 

 mandible being black and the lower yellow. 



This diversity of coloring in the sexes, which holds throughout the entire group, is pro- 

 ductive of very great trouble to the systematic naturalist, as the two sexes are in many cases 

 so very unlike each other that there is hardly any criterion for settling the species to which 

 they belong, except by patient and careful observation of their habits when at liberty in their 

 native haunts. AVlien, moreover, the birds are shy and retiring in their habits, as is the case 

 with many of the Trogons, the amount of laljor which is entailed ui)on the observer is more 

 than doubled, and the value of such a work as Mr. Gould's monograjjh is proportionately 

 increased. 



The Mexican Trogon is, as its name implies, an inhabitant of that country whose name 

 it bears, being generally found in the northern districts of Mexico. It is worthy of remark 

 that the Trogons of America are all similar in their coloring ; the up])er parts of the adult 

 males being green, and the under portions either scarlet or yellow. The young male and the 

 female birds are not so brilliant in hue. In most instances the outer quill -feathers of the tail 

 are barred with black and white. The beak of these species is marked with notches along the 

 tip of the mandibles and pointed with bristly hairs at the base. 



The Naein^a Trogon is an inhabitant of Africa, and is generally found in the densest 

 forests of the southern portions of tliat continent. Its i-ather graceful name was given to it by 

 Le Vaillant, in remembrance of Narina, a young Gonaqua Hottentot girl, whose dusky charms 

 and savage graces made an instantaneous and most powerful impression on the heart of the 

 susceptible Frenchman. 



This species has many of the habits of the fly-catcher, with the exception of its partially 

 nocturnal mode of life. During the daytime it seeks the darkest recesses of its native forests, 

 and, selecting a dead branch as its perch, sits dull and motionless until the evening. It then 

 sallies from its place of refuge, and settling upon a convenient bough, sweeps upon every 

 insect that may pass within a convenient distance, and carrying its prey back to the perch, 

 devours it at leisure. 



The general color of this beautiful bird is emerald green, shining with an almost metallic 

 lustre. This hue is si)read over the whole of the upper surface, except the wings and tail, and 

 also tinges the throat and chest. The abdomen and remainder of the under surface are bright 

 red. Tlie wings are brown covered with minute dots of gray upon the secondaries and greater 

 coverts, and the tail is colored with several shades of green above, diversified by the pure 

 wliite of the three outer feathers on each side. The beak is yellowish-l^lue. The female bird 

 is differently colored, her plumage being of the following hues: — The green of the upper sur- 

 face and throat is not quite so resplendent as in her mate, and a rusty-brown tint is spread 

 over the throat and round the eyes, warming into a delicate rose upon the chest. The total 

 length of the bird is nearly one foot. 



