94: 
VEETEBRATA. 
THE TEOGONS OR COUROUCOUS. 
These splendid birds are found in the tropical 
regions of both hemispheres, but most of the 
species inhabit South America. They frequent 
the thickest parts of the forests, where they feed 
principally upon insects, which they capture on 
the wing- and sometimes pick from the bark of 
trees. Some of the species, however, derive 
their chief nourishment from fruits and berries. 
They lay their eggs in the holes of rotten trees, 
upon the debris usually found in such situations, 
and, like the woodpeckers, frequently enlarge 
the holes by means of their strong bills. Their 
cry is peculiar and melancholy, resembling the 
word couroucou, which has hence been applied 
to them as a vernacular name. Their bills have 
tufts of bristles at the base; their plumage is 
adorned with bright colors, and often most bril- 
liantly metallic, and the beauty of their appear- 
ance is frequently greatly enhanced by the ele- 
gance of their long tails. They vary consider- 
ably in size, some of the smallest being little 
larger than a sparrow, while the largest are of 
the size of a pigeon. The ancient Mexicans 
made exquisite feather pictures of the plumes of 
these birds, and Montezuma was so delighted 
with them that he kept an extensive aviary of 
them. 
The Resplendent Trogon, T. resplendens, 
has the plumage of a beautiful bronzed golden 
green color ; the two middle feathers of the tail, 
which are much longer than the body and very 
broad, give it a peculiarly graceful appearance. 
It is a native of Guatemala, and is called by 
the inhabitants, Quesal : its gorgeous plumes 
are much sought after by the natives of that 
country as ornaments; formerly they were only 
allowed to be worn by persons of the highest 
rank. They are exceedingly difficult to pro- 
cure, from their usually frequenting the highest 
trees of the forest, and when the collector has 
succeeded in shooting them, they generally lose 
a portion of their light plumage in their fall, 
while the extraordinary tenderness of their skins 
renders the operation of skinning them a most 
difficult matter. 
Nearly forty species of Trogon are known, 
three-fourths of which belong to tropical Amer- 
ica ; one species to Africa, and the rest to Asia 
and the Asiatic islands. The habits of some of these are as remarkable as their plumage ; we 
are told that the young of the T. JSfarina, of South America, immediately follow their parents 
on the wing, after being hatched. One species, T, Mexicanus, is found on the Rio Grande, 
RESPLENDENT TROGON — MALE AND FEMALE. 
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