THE HUMMING BIRD. 



[January i, 1891 



SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



Notes on the Genus Pharomacrus or 

 Resplendent Trogon. 



By 



A. BOUCARD. 



The genus Pharomacrus was made by la Llave (a 

 Mexican naturalist) in 1801 for the magnificent bird 

 known under the names of Quetzal in Mexico and 

 Central America, Couroucou resplendissant in France, 

 Resplendent Trogon in England, Ave del Paraiso in 

 Spain and America, etc., etc. It is certainly the 

 finest bird of America. It is found from Mexico to 

 Panama. In South America it is represented by 

 other several fine species, but the tail of these species 

 is quite short. Meanwhile in the specimens from 

 Mexico and Guatemala it is common to see male 

 birds with tails measuring over one yard long, and 

 three inches wide. It is well-known that during the 

 reign of Moctezuma, Emperor of Mexico, at the 

 time of the Conquest, the feathers of this bird were 

 highly estimated for ornamental purposes, and only 

 the Emperor and his family could make use of them. 

 What a strange thing to remember this, when four 

 centuries afterwards, these birds are again actively 

 searched for the same purpose, especially for the 

 adornment of the fair sex. 



Quezaltenango, a province lying south of Mexico, 

 but now belonging to Guatemala, had no other 

 tribute in time of Montezuma than to send yearly the 

 feathers of one hundred of these birds for the use of 

 the Imperial family of Mexico. 



Actually this identical bird forms part of the 

 arms of the Republic of Guatemala, and has also 

 been adopted by that country as effigies for its postal 

 stamps ; where it shows splendidly and beautifully as 

 stamp Collectors well know. 



Coban, capital of the province of the Alta Vera 

 Paz, in Guatemala, is the locality where many of these 

 birds can be got. 



During ten years I have received yearly from that 

 place 600 skins of these birds, for which I paid 

 28s. 6d. each. I had a constant customer for them, 

 but a sudden fall of 15s. per bird, stopped completely 

 the remittance. That was in the year 1876. Since 

 then very few have been sent, so I hope that they 

 have had time to multiply again. Only males were 

 ordered to be killed. Perhaps for that reason they 

 did not seem to be getting rarer; nevertheless the 

 hunters had sometimes to go to very long distances 

 to get them, and they were glad when they could 

 shoot four or five weekly. 



The female of this glorious bird is fine, but nothing 

 to compare with the male, and its value is very little. 

 Hence the reason why I ordered to spare them, and 

 principally also for not destroying this fine species. 



Since a few years large consignments have been 

 made from Costa Rica, and even from Nicaragua ; 

 but although splendid in colour their tails are not 



comparable to Mexican and Guatemalan specimens. 

 They are always much shorter and narrower. During 

 my voyage in Costa Rica in 1877, I saw several of 

 these birds, and many were brought to me by the 

 native hunters. In fact, I brought back about 250 

 with me in London. All of them being alike, I 

 made a variety of this bird, which I described and 

 called Pharomacrus mocina, Var cosiaricensis. — 

 Ornith. Miscell. Part XL, page 21. 



In Veragua (Columbia) south of Costa Rica, this 

 species is also found ; but the tail is again a little 

 shorter than the Costa Rica specimens. 



In Columbia, Venezuela, and Ecuador it is replaced 

 by two other species, Pharomacrus fulgidus and auriceps, 

 of which large consigments are made yearly to Paris, 

 where they fetch the wholesale price of 4s., which I 

 consider very cheap for such fine birds. 



The tail of these species is rather short and only 

 just remind the splendid tail of P. Mocina. Everyone 

 would think that these birds must be very common 

 thousands of specimens being sent yearly to Europe, 

 but it is not so. 



They are rather rare and scarcely seen. They 

 inhabit the densest and most savage places of the semi 

 tropical forests, in the barrancas (deep ravines) where 

 it is very difficult to get at them, and it is only due to 

 the active search made by several hundred native 

 hunters that a certain number can be obtained. 



The native hunter for the sake of 2s. or 4^. per 

 bird, which is the sum generally paid, searches every- 

 where for them ; hunting at the same time other birds ; 

 especially Rupicola peruviana, vulgarly known as Cock 

 of the Rock, and humming birds which are also found 

 in the same localities with these Trogons. Between 

 1000 and 2000 are secured every year. 



They are in great demand for Plumassiers purposes 

 in consequence of their magnificent plumage. 



They usually nest in the hollow parts of trees or in 

 the rocks. They lay only two pure white eggs, the 

 size of a small dove, but more rounded, similar to the 

 eggs of Wood Peckers. 



The actual wholesale value of these birds is between 

 \zs. and 25^. for the long tail species, ]and 4s. to 6s. 

 for the South American species. 



Now I will give a monographic list of these splendid 

 birds of which six species and varieties are known. 



CLASS AVES. 



Ordo Coccyges. 



SUB-ORDO HETERODACTYLjB. 



Fam. TrogonidjE, Sw. 1831. 



Pharomachrus De la Llave, 1801. 



Calurus, Sw. 1830. 



Pharomacrus mocina, La Llave, 180 1. 



Trogon pavoninus, Temm. — Trogon paradiseUS 

 Bp. 1826 — Trogon resplendens, Gould, 1835, Re- 

 splendent Trogon. 



Male : — Head, Neck, and entire Back metallic 

 green, with gold reflections, Wing and tail coverts 

 golden green ; some of the wing coverts are nearly 



