TROGON CHIONURUS. 
The Snow-tailed Trog’on. 
Specific Character. 
Trog. similis T. viridi, sed rectricibus exterms fere omnino albis, ita ut cauda clausa omnino alba 
esse videtur. 
Foem. Etiam rectricum externarum apices late albos ostendit (Scl. & Salv. 1. c.). 
Adult male .—Head and neck black, with a very slight gloss of purple ; back purplish blue, 
glossed here and there with coppery green, shading off into rich dark purple on the 
rump and upper tail-coverts ; wings entirely black, with the exception of the least 
coverts, which are coloured like the back ; tail dull purple, tipped with black, and 
inclining to black on the inner web of all but the two centre feathers, the three 
outer tail-feathers white, with black bases, the latter increasing in extent gradually 
towards the centre of the tail; sides of face, throat, and upper breast black, the 
sides of the latter showing a purplish gloss, rest of under surface rich orange-yellow, 
the leg-feathers black ; under wing-coverts black, the innermost whitish, the lower 
series ashy black, like the inner lining of the quills, the latter being ashy black with 
white bases to the inner webs of the median primaries. 
Total length 10| inches; culmen \; wing 5\; tail 6; tarsus 
Female .—Greyish above and on the lower parts, including the breast ; the rest of the 
under surface rich orange; wings black, the coverts narrowly barred with white; the 
outer tail-feathers tipped with white and barred with black on the rest of the white 
of these feathers. 
Trogon viridis, Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 364.—Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. vii. p. 290. 
- —- chionurus, Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1870, p. 843.—Wyatt, Ibis, 1871, p. 374.—Scl. & 
Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 304. 
- eximius, Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. x. p. 11. 
I have taken the characters of this species from Messrs. Sclater and Salvin; and I think I cannot do 
better than reproduce their remarks on the affinities of the species :—“ We have examined numerous 
specimens of this Trogon from Panama, and have hitherto referred it to T. viridis. We convinced ourselves 
some time ago, on examining an example from Mr. Lawrence’s collection, that is was not really T. viridis , 
but were then doubtful whether it might not be T. venustus, Cab. & Hein. (Mus. Hein. iv. p. 194). On going 
into the question again, aided by additional skins of T. viridis from various localities, we feel convinced that 
T. venustus (as characterized l. s. c.) cannot be considered really distinct from T. viridis. We have speci¬ 
mens of this bird now before us from Rio, Bahia, Matto Grosso, Eastern Venezuela, and Bogota, and can 
find no constant differences amongst them, although there is considerable diversity of tint in the colour of 
the lower back, and some specimens approach to what Dr. Finsch has recently proposed to call T. cyamrus 
(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 559) ! 
“ On the other hand, three Panama skins in the collection of Salvin and Godman present the remarkable 
character of the outer tail-feathers above mentioned. The first outer pair are all pure white except a 
narrow basal patch concealed by the tail-coverts. Of the second pair considerably more than the apical half 
is white. In the third pair the white apices measure 2 inches in length. We therefore call this bird 
T. chionurus. We have seen other examples of this Panama species in Mr. Lawrence’s and Mr. Gould’s 
collections.” 
Nothing is known of the habits and economy of this fine species ; but Mr. Salvin, in a note to me, 
states :— 
