Trogon, and Conroncon, names given to the scansorial birds of the family trogonidoe, the second name being derived from their peculiar melancholy cry. The bill is short, strong, curved, broader than high, triangular seen from above, with the margins and tip usually serrated, the base provided with tufts of bristles, and the gape wide; wings moderate and rounded; tarsi short and weak, more or less feathered; toes of unequal length, and arranged in two pairs, the inner being turned backward. There are about 40 species in the tropical regions of both hemispheres, but especially numerous in South America; they frequent thick and damp forests, feeding on insects, fruits, and berries; they are most active in morning and evening. A few live in the islands of the Indian archipelago, and one genus in Africa. The American may be distinguished from the old world species by their barred tail. Though the neck and feet seem too short for the bulky body, the plumage is usually beautiful, often with metallic brilliancy. The eggs, two to four, are laid in the holes of rotten trees, and several broods are raised in a year.

The species vary in size from a thrush to a magpie; it is rare to obtain good specimens, as they frequent the highest trees of the thickest forests, and when shot lose many of the soft and delicate feathers by the fall to the ground; the skin is very tender, and renders the operation of skinning so difficult that the natives dry the body with the feathers on. - In the genus trogon (Moehr.) the first quill is short and the fourth the longest. The red-bellied trogon (T. ctiru-cui, Linn.) is about a foot long, green above, red below, with the throat black, and the coverts and tail striped with the same; it is a native of Mexico. The peacock or splendid trogon (calurus resplendens, Swains; T. pavo-ninus, Temm.) has the edges of the bill smooth, the wing coverts long and curved, and the upper tail coverts greatly prolonged, entirely concealing the tail; it is larger than the last named, and the middle tail coverts are 3 to 3½ ft. in length; it is of a beautiful bronzed and golden green above and on the throat, and scarlet below; it is found in Mexico and Central America. The feathers of this and the preceding species are much prized for ornaments. - See the "Monograph of the Trogonidae," by John Gould (fol, London, 1838).

Red-bellied Trogon (Trogon curucui).