TROGONS. 
17 
known to me; one like a mocking laugh is seldom heard; the other is a plaintive 
Ua-hau, with the second syllable much prolonged. It has a, ventriloquial quality 
and often deceives the hearer, who fancies that the bird is ever so far off, 
whereas it is close at hand all the while. At Cuterro I had a good opportunity 
of observing its singular way of clinging in a vertical position to the trees, 
MALE AND FEMALE QUEZAL. 
spreading its tail out the while and then 
shutting it suddenly. In this localitj^ it 
feeds on certain black fruits, which impart 
to its flesh an odour of marjoram. I 
never saw it nesting, but the natives said 
that it nested in holes and laid eggs of a 
greenish blue. An egg which my com¬ 
panion found on the ground was universally 
admitted to belong to this trogon. 
Briefly referring to some 
True Troerons. ^ 0 
of the other genera, it may 
be mentioned that the South American 
Ewptilotis is characterised by the presence 
of tufts of hair-like feathers behind the 
ear-coverts; the sole representative of the 
genus being an inhabitant of Mexico. Long 
hair-like feathers in the same situation 
are likewise distinctive of the single 
species of Tmetotrogon, which is confined 
to the island of San Domingo; while in the Cuban Prionotelus, of which 
there is also but one species, the tail-feathers are deeply notched. With the single 
exception of a species ( T. ambiguus) occurring just within the southern limits of 
the United States, the members of the typical genus Trogon are restricted to 
VOL. iv.—2 
