THE SEARCHERS. 



103 



The BEAUTIFUL-TAILED TROGONS ( Calurus), as the largest members of this family 

 are called, are at once recognisable by their comparatively broad, flat head and shallow beak, wMch. 

 is compressed and very decidedly-hooked at its tip. The plumage of the wings and tail is remarkably 

 developed, and of great beauty. 



THE PEACOCK TROGON. 

 The Peacock Trogon {Trogon calurus) has the central tail-feathers of great length. The 

 feathers of the head, throat, upper breast, and wing-covers are of a bright, metallic green, and gleam 

 with a copper-red and violet lustre ; the lower breast, belly, rump, and thighs are purplish red ; the 

 inner side of the -vvings, the quills, and tail are black. The eye is a dull, carmine-red, and the bare 

 patch that surrounds it dark grey ; the beak is deep red, tipped and edged with yellow, and the 

 foot bro\vn and yellow. The female resembles her mate, but is somewhat less bright in hue. The 

 length of this bird is fourteen inches and a quarter, and its breadth twenty-two inches and a half. 

 The wing measures seven inches and a quarter, and the tail seven inches ; the centre tail-feathers 

 exceed the rest by six inches and a half Spix first discovered this bird at Rio Negi'o. 



THE BEAUTIFUL TROGON. 



The Beautiful Trogon {Calurus Pharomacrus or C. antisianus) — (See Coloured Plate XXV.) — 

 is recognisable from the Peacock Trogon by a bunch of hair-like feathers on the region of the beak, 

 and by the inferior length of the long feathers on the wing and tail. The coloration of the plumage 

 is almost identical, except that the tail-feathers are quite white underneath, and the beak of a 

 yellowish shade. The body is fourteen inches long ; the wing measures seven inches and a half, and 

 the tail six inches and a half. D'Orbigny discovered this bird in Bolivia, where it frequents the 

 vicinity of the rivers. 



THE QUESAL, OR RESPLENDENT TROGON. 



The QuESAL, or Resplendent Trogon {Calurus paradiseus, or C. resplendens), the most 

 magnificent of all these beautiful birds, is adorned with a helmet-like crest, and possesses a most 

 extraordinary development of the feathers on the shoulders, which droop over the wings and tail. 

 The mantle and upper breast are of a brilliant, golden green. The under side is bright carmine- 

 red. The eye is deep nut-brown, the eyelid black, the beak yellow, with a brownish base ; 

 the foot brownish yellow. The female has a smaller crest, and the long feathers in her tail scarcely 

 exceed the other tail-feathers in length. In both sexes the head, throat, and upper breast are dark 

 green ; the back, shoulders, and upper tail-covers light green ; and the lower breast and belly greyish 

 brown. The rump is bright red, the centre tail-feathers are black, those at the exterior white, marked 

 with black. The length of the body is sixteen inches ; the wing measures eight inches and one-third, 

 and the tail eight inches and a half The longest feathers in the male bird's tail exceed the rest by 

 twenty-five inches. 



The Qiiesal inhabits Mexico and Central America; and, according to Salvia, is met with in 

 all such woods and forests as are at a height of about 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. In 

 these situations it leads a quiet and dreamy existence, perching lazily in the trees, and scarcely 

 exerting itself to do more than slowly turn its head from side to side, or raise and waft its graceful, 

 drooping plumes. Only in the air, however, is the beauty of the Quesal seen in its full perfection : 

 and as it floats rapidly but gently along, with feathery train outspread, those who have witnessed its 

 elegant movements will admit that amongst all the inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere it is 

 without a rival. The voice of this bird is capable of producing a great variety of sounds ; the 

 principal note, however, is a piping tone, which commences sofdy, and gradually swells into a loud 



