

Order II. PASSERES. 



Tribe II. Fissirostres Diursle. 



The fourth Family, 



TROGONID^E, or Trogons, 



have the Bill short, strong, subtriangular, broader at the base than elevated, with the tip and the 

 margins generally toothed ; the Gape furnished with bristles ; the Nostrils basal, lateral, more or less 

 concealed by the projecting feathers ; the Wings moderate and rounded, with the fourth and fifth quills 

 usually the longest ; the Tail long and even, with the lateral feathers graduated ; the Tarsi short, and 

 more or less covered with feathers; the Toes placed two anteriorly and two posteriorly, each pair 

 unequal. 



Trogon Mcehr.* 



Bill strong, short, the base very broad, and the culmen much curved to the tip, which is emarginated, 

 the sides compressed, and the lateral margins serrated ; the nostrils basal, lateral, and entirely concealed 

 by the frontal plumes and bristles. Wings moderate, with the fourth and fifth quills equal and longest. 

 Tail long, with the middle feathers even, and the lateral feathers graduated. Tarsi short, and entirely 

 concealed by short plumes, their entire length. Toes moderate ; the two anterior ones unequal, and 

 united as far as the first joint. 



These splendid birds are peculiar to tropical America. In the gloomy shades of the forests they live solitary, and 

 remain motionless on the branches, among the thick foliage, during the heat of the day; but early in the morning and in 

 the evening they seek the more open though still shady parts, and take up some position from which they can observe 

 and dart after the insects flying near, on which they principally subsist. Then - flight is rapid and undulating, though 

 not prolonged to any great distance. The nest is placed in holes formed by means of the bill in rotten trees, or in the 

 nest of a species of ant that burrows in them. The female lays from three to four eggs on the bare dust. 



1. T. Curucui Linn. PI. enl. 452. 737-, Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Cour. 

 t. 1, 2. — Trogon melanurus Swains. Gould, Monogr. Trog. pi. 18. 



2. T. Curucura Vieill. N. Diet. Hist. Nat. viii. 322., Azara No. 

 270., Gould, Monogr. Trog. pi. 15. 



3. T. viridis Linn. Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Cour. t. 3, 4. — Trogon 

 violaceus Gmel. ; T. strigilatus Gmel. PI. enl. 765. ; T. melanop- 

 terus Swains. Gould, Monogr. Trog. pi. 10, 11. 



4. T. Upturns Swains. Two Cent, and a Quart, p. 331., PL enl. 

 195. — Trogon rufus Gmel. PI. enl. 736. ; T. scalaris Licht.? Le 

 Vaill. Hist. Nat. Cour. t. 9- ; T. atricoUis (Vieill.) Gould. 



5. T. atricoUis (Vieill.) N. Diet. Hist. Nat. viii. 318., Edwards's 

 Birds, pi. 331., Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Cour. t. 7, 8. 15., Gould, Mo- 

 nogr. Trog. pi. 8. 



6. T. sulphureus Spix, A v. Bras. t. 38. — Trogon meridionalis 

 Swains. Gould, Monogr. Trog. pi. 9- 



7. T. aurantius Spix, Av. Bras. t. 36., Gould, Monogr. Trog. 

 pi. 14. 



8. T. collaris Vieill. N. Diet. Hist. Nat. viii. 320. — Trogon 

 rosalba Cuv. Le Vaill. Hist. Nat. Cour. t. 6., Gould, Monogr. Trog. 

 pi. 5. ; T. auratus Swains. 



9. T. variegatus Spix, Av. Bras. t. 38"., Gould, Monogr. Trog. pi. 6. 



10. T. roseigaster Vieill. Ency. Me'th. iii. 1358., Le Vaill. Hist. 

 Nat. Cour. t. 13. — Trogon domicellus Cuv.; T. rhodogaster 

 Temm. ; Temnurus ? roseigaster Gould, Monogr. Trog. pi. 20. 



11. T. ambiguus Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1835. 30., Monogr. Trog. 

 pi. 4. 



12. T. citreolus Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1835. 30., Monogr. Trog. pi. 

 13. — Trogon chrysogaster Swains. 



13. T. elegans Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1835. 26., Monogr. Trog. 

 pi. 3. 



Established in 1752, by Mcehring, in his Genera Avium. 



