d :
81
II
TROGON E R Y TH RO C E PHA L U S .
Red-headed Trog’on.
Mas. Trog. capite guttureque sordide sanguineis, hoc postice striga alba obsoleta cincto ; pectore
ventreque coccineis; dorso, tectricibusque caudce superioribus arenaceo-castaneis ; scapidaribus
alceque tectricibus majoribus nigro alboque Jlexuosim strigatis; remigibus nigris, pogoniis
externis albo jimbriatis; rectricibus duabus intermediis castanets ad apicem nigris, duabus
proximis utrinque nigris, reliquis nigris albo late apiculatis.
Juv. vel Foem. Capite guttureque arenaceo-brunneis ; torque albo magis quarn in mare conspicuo;
scapidaribus nigro brunneoque strigatis.
Rostrum brunneum ; mandibidarum basis regioque ophthalmica nuda coccineas.
Male. The head, throat, and chest dull re d ; a narrow hand of white separates the chest from
the breast, which with the whole of the under parts are scarlet; back and upper tail-
coverts sandy brown; centre of the wings striated with fine wavy lines o f black and white;
primaries black, with the exception of the outer edge of each quill, which is white;
two middle tail-feathers chestnut brown tipped with black, the next two on each side
wholly black, the rest black at their base only with the remaining portion white; naked
space round the eyes r e d ; bill black.
Young or Femalel Similarly clothed to the male, except that the whole head and chest are sandy
brown and the linear markings on the centre of the wing are brown on a black ground
instead of white, which is characteristic of the male only.
Total length, 12 to 13 inches; wing, 5 ; tail, 6* to 7-
Trogon erythrocephalus. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., Part II. p. 25.
Trogon fasciatus. Lath. Gen. Hist., 2nd Edit., vol. 3. pi. 50. p. 212.
T h is fine species appears to enjoy a range of habitat extending from Rangoon to the rich valley of Nepaul,
from which latter country we have seen a single specimen. In Rangoon it is a bird of common occurrence.
Like the rest of its genus, it gives a preference to the thickest jungles; hence in that luxuriant country it finds
a retreat at once congenial with its habits and mode of life. It is a species of extreme rarity in our
collections, doubtless owing to the little intercourse we have hitherto had with the interesting country of
which it is a native, and from the probability of its being entirely confined to the continent. My own
specimens, two or three which were killed and brought to this country by Major Godfrey, and one sent from
Nepaul by B. H. Hodgson, Esq., are all the examples of this bird that I have seen.
I am induced to believe that the bird figured in Dr. Latham’s General History (quoted above) under the
title of Trogon fasciatus is identical with the present, notwithstanding that the weight recorded by him, one
ounce and a half, and some difference in the colouring would seem to contradict such an opinion. One thing
is certain, it cannot be referred to the original fasciatus described and figured in the Indian Zoology of Forster
and Pennant, a species about which there is considerable confusion.
If we may judge from analogy, the upper bird in the accompanying Plate represents a young male, and not,
as I at first supposed, a female; if this be the case, the female is at present unknown.
Habitat, Rangoon, Nepaul, &c.