TROGON MELANOPTERUS, Swains.
Black-winged Trogon.
S p e c if ic C h a r a c t e r .
Mas. Trog. capite supra gutiureque violaeeo purpureis; auribus guldque nigris; dorso uropy-
gioque metallice viridibus; caudce tectricibus superioribus purpureis ; rectricibus duabus in-
termediis viridibus purpureo tinctis, proximis duabus utrinque pogoniis, externis viridescenti-
purpureis internis nigris, his omnibus nigro apiculatis, cceteris ad basin nigris ad apicem
albis; alis nigris ; ventre tectricibusque caudce inferioribus aurantiaco-Jlavis.
Irides saturate brunneae; rostrum coerulescenti-cinereum, apicem versus subflavescens; pedes
ccerulescenti-cinerei.
Fcem. Supra et ad pectus saturate plumbeo-cinereus; alis brunnescenti-nigris, secundariis scqpu-
laribusque albo transversim strigatis; rectricibus brunnescenti-nigris, extimarim utrinque
trium apicibus Jasciaque pogonii interni albis.
Rostrum quam in mare saturates.
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 pu rp le ; 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 g rey ; irides
dark brown.'
Female. 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, 10+ to 11+ inches; bill, 1+; wing, 5+ to 5+; tail, 6+; tarsi, +.
Trogon violaceus, viridis, curucui, Auct.
Couroucou de la Guiane. Buff. PI. Enl. 765 ? young male.
--------------------Cayenne. Ibid. 766? female.
A l t h o u g h 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.