Zoological Illustrations Series II/Plate 107
TROGON Mexicanus. f.
Mexican Trogon. fem.
TROGON Mexicanus,
Mexican Trogon. female.
Tribe Fissirostris. Family Trogonidæ. See North Zool. 2, p. 326.
Generic Characters.
Body thick. Bill very short, strong, thick, nearly triangular, but the sides compressed, surrounded by long, stiff, bristly feathers, the culmen arched from the base. Wings very convex, the quills graduated; tail very broad, feet short, weak, gressorial.
Sub-Genera.
| 1. Bill with several unequal serratures on the margin of the upper mandible: head not crested, tail even, tarsi feathered to the base of the toes; anterior toes united to half their length. America. |
Trogon. Auct. |
| 2. Bill serrated; head with an erect compressed crest; tail very long, cuneated. America. |
Calurus. Sw. |
| 3. Bill entire. Inhabits tropical Asia. | Harpactes. Sw. |
| 4. Bill with obscure serratures: tarsi naked, covered with scales; the two anterior toes divided nearly to their base. (Type, Trogon Narina). Africa. |
Apaloderma. Sw. |
Specific Character.
Female. Breast and upper plumage olive brown; body and under tail covers crimson; front, chin, and ears grey; wing covers lineated with undulate dusky lines; two middle tail feathers ferruginous brown, with black tips.
We have already given the general reader some account of the manners of these very singular birds, and we have said more upon them in North. Zool. Vol. 2. Having figured the male on our 82nd plate, we now exhibit, in the female, that remarkable difference between the sexes, which pervades all the species. Our figure and specific character renders a detailed description of the plumage unnecessary; it should be observed, however, that the lateral tail feathers, in the female, are without those two black transverse bands on the inner web, towards the tip, which are so conspicuous in the male. There is another species from Mexico, which country seems to be the most northern range of these birds. We feel gratified at being able to characterize four typical forms of the genus; all of which, at the same time, are marked by geographic peculiarities.