TROGON SURUCURA, Vieill.
Surucua Trog*on.
S p e c i f i c C h a r a c t e r .
Mas. Trog. vertice, cervice, pectoreque iridescenti-viridibus ; fac ie guttureque nigris ; dorso
saturate iridescenti-aureo-viridi in coeruleum ad uropygium vergente ; rectricibus intermediis
duabus coerulescenti-viridibus, duabus proximis utrinque pogoniis externis coerulescenti-viri-
dibus internis nigris, harum omnium apicibus nigris, reliquis dimidio basali nigro apicali
albo ; remigibus nigrescenti-brunneis, albo ad pogonia externa fimbriatis; secundariis alâque
supra nigro alboque lineolatim punctatimque variis ; abdominis medio tectricïbusque caudoe
inferioribus coccineis.
Irides saturatè rufescenti-brunneæ ; rostrum flavescenti-albidum ; pedes saturatè brunnei.
Foem. Fuliginoso-cinerea ; ventre imo caudoeque tectricibus irferioribus coccineis ; alis brunnes-
centi-nigris, remigibus albo fimbriatis, secundariis plumisque coeteris cinereo-albido fiasciatis;
rectricibus nigrescenti-brunneis ; intermediis sex nigro apiculatis, reliquis albo fimbriatis nisi
basin versus pogoniorum internonm.
Rostrum cinereo-albidum.
Maie. Crown of the head, back of the neck, and chest changeable green and violet ; throat and
face black ; back and upper tail-coverts deep changeable golden green, inclining to blue
on the rump ; the two middle tail-feathers bluish green, the two next on each side with
their outer webs only bluish green, the inner black, the whole six tipped with black ; the
three outer feathers on each side have their basal half black, the remainder white ; primaries
blackish brown bordered with white on their exterior edges ; secondaries and upper
part of the wing freckled with markings of black and white ; centre of the abdomen and
under tail-coverts crimson scarlet; bill yellowish white; irides deep reddish brown; feet
dark brown.
Female. Whole of the head, neck, chest, back and rump sooty grey; lower part of the belly
and under tail-coverts scarlet; wings brownish black, primaries edged with white; the
secondaries and upper part of the wings transversely rayed with greyish white ; six centre
tail-feathers blackish brown tipped with black, three outer feathers on each side blackish
brown margined on their exterior edges and partly so on their inner ones with white ; bill
greyish white.
Total length, lOf inches ; bill, 1 ; wing, 5 ; tail, 5 t ; tarsi, -§-.
Le Surucua. Azara, Voy. dans l’Amérique Méridionale, tom. iv. No. c c l x x .
--------------------------- Ibid., Sonnini’s Translation, tom. iv. p. 41.
Trogon Surucura. Vieill., L’Encyclopédie Méthodique, tom. 3. p. 1362.
I h a v e not the slightest hesitation in asserting this species of Trogon to be the Surucua of Azara, from whose
elaborate work I am consequently induced to insert the following nearly literal translation.
After informing us that Surucua is the native name of this bird in Paraguay, he proceeds to state that “ it
is not common, and it does not quit the largest woods. It generally remains on the upper portions of the
trees without descending to the lower branches or to the earth: it sits a long time motionless, watching for
insects which may pass within its reach, and which it seizes with adroitness; it is not gregarious, but dwells
either in solitude or in pairs; its flight, which is rapid and performed in vertical undulations, is not prolonged.
These birds are so tame as to admit of a near approach; I have seen them killed with a stick They do not
migrate, and they are never heard except in the love season; their note then consists but of the frequent repetition
of the syllables pio in a strong, sonorous and melancholy voice: the male and female answer each other.
They form their nest on the trees by digging into the lower part of the nest of a species of ant known by the
name of cupiy, until they have made a cavity sufficiently large, in which the female deposits in the month of
September two white eggs according to some, and four according to others. I have seen the male clinging
to a tree, after the manner of the Woodpeckers, occupied in digging a nest with his beak, while the female
remained tranquil on a neighbouring tree.’**
Azara states that he has only seen this bird from Paraguay; I have, however, received it from the southern
parts of the Brazils, and a single specimen formed part of the fine collection made by Capt. P. P. King during
his survey of the Straits of Magellan. Although I have not been able to ascertain from what precise locality
Capt. King’s specimen was procured, I am inclined to believe that it has a more extensive range than is generally
suspected. i