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340 ANIMAL FIGURES IN THE MAYA CODICES 



the turkey, considered as a bird of good fortune, and found 

 in the '' House of Rain." 



Coppery-tailed Trogan or Quetzal {Pharomacrus 

 mocinno). The quetzal is common locally in certain parts 

 of southern Mexico. Its brilliant metallic green plumage 

 and the greatly elongated tail feathers make it a very notable 

 bird. The feathers of the head are erect and stand out as 

 a light crest, those of the anterior portion being slightly re- 

 curved. The delicate erect .feathers of the head are well 

 indicated in Vaticanus 3773, 17 (PL 24, fig. 9) and the tail, 

 also, in this figure, is only slightly conventionalized with an 

 upward instead of the natural downward sweep. In most 

 of the representations, the crest feathers are indicatd by large 

 plumes, the most anterior of which project forward. They 

 may be even further modified into three knobs shown in 

 Dresden 7c (PL 24, fig. 1). The two characteristics of the 

 quetzal, namely its erect head feathers and its extraordi- 

 narily long tail feathers, are often used separately. Thus 

 the tail, which is commonly drawn with the outer f eather of 

 each side strongly curled forward, appears by itself in PL 24, 

 fig. 8, or it may be seen as a plume in the head-dress of a 

 priest or warrior and in other connections as an ornament. 

 A greatly conventionalized drawing of the bird is also shown 

 in PL 24, fig. 11, in which the head bears a curious knob and 

 the dorsal feather of the tail is upcurled in the manner of 

 the other drawings. It is not at once apparent why the long 

 drooping tail feathers should be shown thus recurved. Pos- 

 sibly these feathers, when used by the Mayas for plumes, 

 curled over by their own weight, if held erect, so that the rep- 

 resentations are a compromise between the natural appear- 

 ance and that when used as ornament in the head decoration. 

 The color of the bird and the very long tail feathers have 

 already been mentioned, and these explain the reason of the 

 importance of this bird among the Mayas. It is claimed by 

 several old authorities that the quetzal was reserved for the 

 rulers, and that it was death for any common person to kill 

 this bird for his own use. It seems from a statement in 



