8 
BEArTIFUL BIRDS. 
have the mouth defended by strong bristles, and both 
are most active during twilight. 
Couroucou is the Brazilian name of these birds. 
They are peculiar to the hotter regions of America 
and of India, and its adjacent islands, Ceylon, Java, 
Sumatra, etc. ; one species only having as yet been 
discovered in Africa. They are remarkable for the 
beauty and brilliancy of their plumage. The metallic 
golden green of some species is of dazzling effulgence; 
in others it is less gorgeous ; the delicate pencillings 
of the plumage and the contrasted hues of deep 
scarlet, black, green, and brown produce a rich and 
beautiful effect. 
Trogons are zijgodactylic, that is, they have their 
toes in pairs, two before and two behind. The ante- 
rior toes in some species are united, like those of the 
Bee-eaters, as far as the first joint. The tarsi are 
short and feeble, and generally feathered; the bill 
short, triangular, and strong, broad at the base, and 
the tips, and generally the margins of the mandibles, 
are toothed or serrated. The wings are short but 
pointed, the quill-feathers being rigid. The tail long, 
ample, and graduated, its outer feathers decreasing 
in length; in some species, and especially in that 
brilliant bird the resplendent Trogon, the tail-coverts 
are greatly elongated, so as to form a beautiful pendent 
plumage of loose wavy feathers. 
Like the Parrots and Woodpeckers, the Trogons 
breed in the hollows of decayed trees, the eggs being 
deposited on a bed of wood-dust, the work of insects ; 
they are three or four in number, and white. 
Like the Trogons, the Motmots (genus Frionites) 
