200 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



entirely ; as does as also Lyncornis, and the closely affined Austra- 

 lian genus, Eurystopodus of Gould. 



The 3rd sub-family, the PoDAGERiNiE of Gray, is chiefly African. 

 They have a longer tarsus, and the inner toe longer than the outer 

 one. Some of them have remarkably long appendages to their 

 wings, e. g. Macrodipteryx, Swains., and Semeiopliorus of Gould ; 

 some have strong rictal bristles, others want them : the Proithera 

 diurna, of South America, already alluded to, belongs to this sub- 

 family. Some, Nyctidromus, are said to run along the ground, and 

 snap at insects. 



Fam. Tkogonid^. 



Bill short, stout, somewhat triangular, strong, curved from the 

 base ; tip, and sometimes the margin, toothed ; gape wide ; nostrils 

 and base of bill concealed by long tufts of bristles ; wings mo- 

 derate or short ; tarsus short, partially feathered ; toes short, feeble, 

 two before and two behind, the inner toe being turned backwards. 

 Tail long and broad, of twelve feathers ; plumage soft ; skin 

 very thin. 



The Trogons are a remarkable family, of resplendent beauty, the 

 most gorgeous of the species being from America; Africa and 

 India each possessing a peculiar type. They vary in size from 

 that of a Thrush to a Pigeon, and some of the American species have 

 excessively long plumage over the tail, analogous to the train of a 

 Peacock. They lay their eggs in holes of trees, and live chiefly 

 on insects which they capture in the air ; some, however, 

 perhaps all the American Trogons, are said to eat fruits. They 

 manifest an affinity to the Caprimulgidce in their thin soft skin, 

 downy plumage, feeble feet, and other points. 



They resemble both the Cuculida and Caprinmlgidce in their anato- 

 my, but, unlike them, their young are hatched naked. The sternum 

 is short, rather wide posteriorly, doubly emarginate ; the furcula is 

 closed in front; the tongue is short ; the stomach lax ; the intestine 

 short, without coeca, and there is no gall-bladder. Their brain is 

 small. They have an exceedingly dense mass of plumage, very slight- 

 ly implanted in the skin, and readily coming out, and the feathers 

 possess a very large supplementary plume. In this they resemble the 



