EUPTILOTIS NEOXENUS, Gow.

Welcome Trogon.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

Mas.—Rostro cerulescenti-cinereo ; vertice, pectore, sic et dorso summo aurantiaco-viridibus ; capite

cum penicillo gracili et elongato utrinque ornato 3 corpore subtus coccineo.

1 7 :
Male.—F ace, ear-coverts, lengthened tufts posterior to the eye

, and chin black ; head oil-green ;
chest, sides of the neck, tips

of the Wing-coverts and upper surface bronzy green, passing
into bluish green on the lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts ; bases of the wing-
coverts and wings brownish black ; the primaries margined at the base of their external
webs with white ; under surface and under tail-coverts fine blood-red ; thighs dull black ;
tail deep bluish green, the three outer feathers on each side largely tipped with white ; bill
dark horn-colour.

Total length, 13+ inches s boll AE: wing, 8; tail, 8.

Female or Young Male.—Head and face blackish brown ; breast olive-brown, shghtly washed

with bronzy green ; upper surface and tail as in the male, but not so brilliant ; wings

similar, but paler, and with some blotches of dull buffy white on the innermost secondaries ;

3
abdomen and under tail-coverts light blood-red.

Trogon (Calurus) neoxenus, Gould, Mon. of Trogons, List of Plates, Sp. 25.
neoxenus, Gould, Mon. of Trogons, pl 2a:
Calurus neoxenus, Gray, List of Spee. of Birds in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 46.—Gray and Mitch.

Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p: 71, Calurus, sp. 5.—Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p- 152, Calurus,
sp. 9.

 

 

I First became acquainted with this species about the year 1836, when an immature specimen came into my
possession, an examination of which satisfied me that it was the young of a very splendid bird, which could
not fail of being welcomed with feelings of gratification by every ornithologist ; I therefore gave it the name
of Trogon neovenus (Welcome Trogon), and figured it under that appellation in the first edition of this
monograph. Subsequently an adult example of each sex were presented to me by the late Mr. Floresi, to
whose memory a tribute is due for his exertions in the cause of natural science. An examination of these
additional examples at once convinced me that the species did not belong to the genus Pharomacrus, as I
had previously supposed, but exhibited characters differing not only from those of that genus, but from
those of all the other genera of the family, and consequently that a new genus must be established for its
reception, and this I have accordingly done, under the appellation of Huptzotis. It will be seen, on reference
to the accompanying Plate, that not only does the bird differ from the Pharomacri in the character of its
plumage, but that it has a more lengthened and less robust bill, and that the head is adorned with long and
fine hair-like plumes, —a feature very unusual among the Trogons, and which is only to be found in this
species and to a certain extent in Priotelus temnurus and Trogon roseigaster. es

I regret that I did not learn from Mr. Floresi what particular part of Mexico this bird inhabits; but I
have every reason to believe that it dwells on all the high lands, even farther north than the city, and pro-
bably in ane neighbourhood of the Real del Monte mines, as it was in that district that most of his birds
mere procured. At present it is extremely rare in our collections, and examples of no one member of the
class Aves would be more welcome to collectors both in this country and on the continent of Kurope.

The figures are of the natural size.

eee LT

———
a

SE SP

 

 

 

i eee ae an ae ee ae

Sek SS A ee
Salted Vet) oa oda eae Cent ae 5

— ee ae