TROGON MELANOPTERUS, Swains , 
Black-winged Trogon. 
Specific Character. 
Mas. Trog. capite supra guttureque violaceo purpureis; auribus gulaque nigris; dorso uropy- 
gioque metallice viridibus; caudce tectricibus superioribus purpureis ; rectricibus duabus in- 
termediis viridibus purpureo tinctis, proximis duabus utrinque pogoniis, externis vindescenti- 
purpureis internis nigris, his omnibus nigro apicidatis, cceteris ad basin nigris ad apicern 
albis; alis nigris ; ventre tectricibusque caudce inferioribus aurantiaco-jlavis. 
Irides saturate brunneae; rostrum coerulescenti-cinereum, apicem versus subflavescens; pedes 
coerulescenti-cinerei. 
Fosm. Supra et ad pectus saturate plumbeo-cinereus ; alis brunnescenti-nigris,secundariis scctpu- 
laribusque albo transversim strigcitis; rectricibus brunnescenti-nigris , extimarum utrinque 
trium apicibus fasciaque pogonii interni albis. 
Rostrum quam in mare saturatius. 
Male. Bill bluish grey inclining to yellow at the tip ; crown of the head and chest rich violet 
purple, throat and ear-coverts black; back and rump rich metallic green; upper tail- 
coverts purple; two middle tail-feathers green with a tinge of purple, two next on each 
side black on the inner web, and greenish purple on the outer, the whole six tipped with 
black; the three outer feathers on each side black at their base and white at their tips; 
wings black; abdomen and under tail-coverts rich orange yellow; feet bluish grey; irides 
dark brown. 
Remale. Bill as in the male but darker; head, chest, and all the upper surface deep leaden 
grey; wings brownish black; secondaries and scapularies transversely striated with fine 
lines of white; abdomen and under tail-coverts orange ; six middle tail-feathers brownish 
black, the three outer on each side the same, but tipped with white and having bars of the 
same colour on their inner webs. 
Total length, lOi to 1 It inches; bill, li; wing, 5i to 5i; tail, 6i; tarsi, i. 
Trogon violaceus, viridis, curucui, Auct. 
Couroucou de la Guiane. Buff. PI. Enl. 765 l young male. 
-- Cayenne. Ibid. 766? female. 
Although I myself entertain no doubt that the Trog. violaceus, Trog. viridis, and Trog. curucui of different 
authors all refer to this bird, still the descriptions are so imperfect as to defy all attempts to assign it with 
any degree of certainty to either of them ; and in consequence of this intolerable confusion I am induced to 
adopt Mr. Swainson’s name of melanopterus for this common and well-known species. 
The Trogon melanopterus appears to have a more extensive range than most other species, as it is dispersed, 
although but sparingly, through a great portion of the Brazils, and several of the West India Islands adjacent 
to the continent: I would remark, however, that the bird found in the islands is somewhat more diminutive 
in all its proportions than those from the continent, yet in every other particular they so strikingly accord as, 
in my opinion, to render their separation unnecessary. 
This species gives a preference to dense and almost impenetrable forests, and like the other members of its 
race is solitary and unsocial in its habits. The male may be distinguished from all others by its large size 
and by the rich violet colour of its head and chest. The female is more sombre in her colouring, those parts 
being of a dusky grey which in the male are resplendent green and violet. The young male during the first 
year resembles the female; and I have frequently observed that while undergoing the changes from youth to 
maturity, it exhibits a blending of the colouring of the mature male with that of the female, assuming the rich 
colouring of the head and back, without having exchanged either the whole or any portion of the barred tail- 
feathers ; hence, no doubt, has arisen the confusion among the older authors with respect to this bird, in 
consequence of their not being acquainted with its immature changes. 
In the stomachs of some specimens of this bird which M. Natterer examined, were found the remains of 
fruit, and an insect nearly allied to Mantis. 
