Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/57

44 meridional sun, morning and evening twilight is the season of their activity."

The Trogons proper, which are confined to the hottest regions of South America, are distinguished by having the cutting edges of the beak both above and below, cut into notches : the fore toes are united as far as the first joint; the tarsus is feathered to the toes; the nostrils are concealed by bristles.

Shy and recluse in their habits, the Trogons are among the few birds that delight in the lone and sombre recesses of the forest. Even here they prefer to sit in the centre of a tree where the foliage is densest, rarely descending to the ground, or even to the lower branches. Azara, speaking of one species (and they seem to be much alike in their manners), observes, that it sits for a long time motionless, watching for insects that 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; and they are even sometimes killed with a stick. They do not migrate, and are never heard, except in the breeding season; their note then consists of the frequent repetition of the syllables pee-o, 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 or termes, until they have made a