S p e c i f ic C h a r a c t e r .
Mas. Trog. facie, capite antice, auribus, guttureque nigris; pectore, cervice, dorso, tectricv-
busque caudce superioribus viridibus; torque pectorali alba ,\ ventre tectricibusque caudce
inferioribus coccineis ; alis brunnescenti-nigris, in medio cinereis albo transversim jlexuosb
lineatis ; remigum pogoniis externis albo Jimbriatis ; rectricibus duabus intermediis proxima-
rumque duarum utrinque pogoniis externis cupreo-viridibus, harum pogoniis internis nigris,
omnibus ad apicem late nigris; reliquis ad basin nigris, ad apicem albis, in medio prcesertim
pogonii externis albo nigroque Jasciatis.
Foem. Auribus in medio lineaque oculum albis; torque pectorali subobsoleta; supra et ad pectus
cinereo-brunneus olivaceo tinctus; alis in medio cinereis maculis saturatioribus notatis; re-
migibus brunneis ; ventre antice brumnescenti-griseo in coccineum postice transeunte ; rectricibus
duabus intermediis sordid% castaneis, apicibus nigris, duabus proximis utrinque nigris,
reliquis ad basin nigris, ad apicem albis, in medio albis nigro sparsim maculatis.
Rostrum flavum: tarsi brunnei.
Male. Face, fore part of the head, ear-coverts, and throat black; chest, back of the neck, back,
and upper tail-coverts green ; a white crescent separates the green of the chest from the
breast, which together with the belly and under tail-coverts is scarlet; wings brownish
black, the primaries having their outer edges fringed with white; secondaries and centre
of the wings grey, strongly marked with zigzag transverse lines of b lack; two middle tail-
feathers green with bronzy reflections on their outer webs, only the inner webs black; all
six are largely tipped with black; the remaining six black at the base and white at the
tip, the middle portions of these latter feathers barred with black and white, which is most
strongly depicted on their outer edges; feet brown; bill fine gamboge yellow.
jFemale. Bill yellow; centre of the ear-coverts and a small rim round the eye white ; the whole
of the upper surface and chest greyish brown with a tinge of olive; primaries brown,
their outer edges fringed with white; centre of the wings and secondaries grey, faintly
speckled with spots of a darker colour; a faint pectoral band of white separates the feathers
of the chest from those of the breast, which is fight brownish; grey on the upper part,
gradually passing into the scarlet of the hinder part and under tail-coverts; two centre
tail-feathers dull chestnut brown tipped with black, two next on each side black, the
remainder are black at the base and white at the tip, the middle portion being white,
irregularly blotted with black.
Total length about 12 inches; wing, 5± to 5£; tail, 7±.
Trogon elegans. Gould, Proceedings of Zool. Soc., P a rt II. p. 26.
T h e beautiful b ird h ere figured un d er th e specific title o f elegans is a native o f Guatimala, a country rich
beyond mea sure in zoological stores, an d o f th e numberless prod u c tio n s o f which a la rg e p ro p o rtio n a re y e t to
be cha rac terized by th e scientific.
The Graceful Trogon was received from Paris, to which city it was sent from Guatimala in company with
several other species, as the Trog. resplendens, &c.
In point of affinity it is most nearly allied to the bird we have called ambiguus, the chief point of difference
being in the decided barring of the outer tail-feathers, and in the stronger marking on the wings.
The lengthened tails of many of the Mexican Trogons seems a feature which distinguishes them from all
the other Trogons of the new continent ; but in this particular the Trog. elegans is especially conspicuous,
possessing as it does a more lengthened tail than any other of the smaller species of this genus.
The female is readily distinguished from the male by her more obscure and less gaudy colouring, a description
of which is given above.
The Plate represents a male and female.