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MASSENA'S TROGON.— 7Vo(/o» Massincc 



MEXICAN TROGON.— rroffow Mcxicdmis. 



The Trogons are mostly silent birds, the only cry used being that of the male during 

 the season of pairing. It is not a very agreeable sound, being of a sombre and 

 melancholy cast, and thought to resemble the word " couroucourou," a continuation of 

 syllables which has therefore been applied to the entire tribe. The Trogons have been 

 separated into five genera, each of which will find an example in the following pages. 



The splendid bird which has been called Massena's Teogon, in complimentary 

 allusion to the celebrated prince of that name, is an inhabitant of Central America, 

 specimens from 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 

 coloured 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 grey, pencilled with exquisitely delicate lines of jetty black. Tlie cpiill 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 changeable 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 coloured with deep green, are of a dark bluish-grey ; and the 

 wings, instead of being finely pencilled with black upon grey, are powdered with the 

 same tints. The abdomen and breast are scarlet, and the bill is rather curiously coloured, 

 the upper mandible lieing black and the lower yellow. 



