THE EESPLENDENT TROGON. 



163 



insects iu the air with as much adroit- 

 ness as is exhibited by the firmer feathered 

 Trogons, and is found to make its diet 

 chiefly upon berries, fruits, and the insects 

 which it can pick off the branches with- 

 out being forced to pursue them on the 

 wing. While engaged in the search after 

 food, it is a sufficiently active bird, run- 

 ning about the boughs with great agility, 

 and clinging with its powerful feet in 

 every attitude, seeming to care little 

 whether it be sitting on a branch, after 

 the custom of most birds, or hanging 

 witli its head downward, like the 

 parrots. 



Although so brilliant in colouring, it 

 is not so easily seen as might be sup- 

 posed, for its colour harmonizes well 

 Avith the foliage and bark of the trees 

 among which it dwells, and even the 

 rich carmine of its under surface is 

 not very conspicuous in that land of 

 flowers. 



As may be seen from the engraving, 

 the head is decorated with a curiously- 

 shaped tuft of slight and elastic feathers, 

 which spring from the forehead, and by 

 their peculiar curve overshadow the nos- 

 trils and a considerable portion of the 

 beak. This crest, together with the 

 head, the throat, the back, wing-coverts, 

 and upper tail-coverts, are of the richest 

 imaginable green glazed with gold, glowing 

 with a changeable sheen as the breeze 

 plays with the delicate fibres of the plu- 

 mage. The quill feathers of the wing 

 are black, as are the six central feathers 

 of the tail. The upper tail-coverts are 

 very long, exceeding the tail by two 

 inches, flowing gracefully over the stiffer 

 feathers by which they are supported, 

 and contrasting beautifully with their 

 glossy black. The abdomen and re- 

 mainder of the under surface is rich 

 carmine. The total length of an adult 

 bird is about fourteen inches. 



Before entering into any detailed 

 description of the Eesplendent Trogon, 

 we must explain that in order to bring it 

 withiu the limits of our pages, it has 

 been drawn in smaller proportions than 

 any of the other Trogons. In size the 

 Resplendent Trogon is larger than the 

 species which has just been described, so 

 that if it had been drawn to the same 

 scale of proportion the engraving would 



UESPLENDENT IROGO'S.—Calurus resiiUndcns 



U2 



