bluish-green, were procured by Robert Owen (P. Z. S., 1860, p. 374; Ibis, 1861, p. 66, pl. ii. fig. 1); while further and fuller details of its habits were made known by O. Salvin (Ibis, 1861, pp. 138-149), from his own observation of this very local and remarkable species. Its chief home is in the mountains near Coban in Vera Paz, but it also inhabits forests in other parts of Guatemala at an elevation of from 6000 to 9000 ft.
The Quezal is hardly so big as a Turtle-Dove. The cock has a fine yellow bill and a head bearing a rounded crest of filamentous feathers; lanceolate scapulars overhang the wings, and from the rump spring the long flowing plumes which are so characteristic of the species, and were so highly prized by the natives before the Spanish conquest that no one was allowed to kill the bird when taken, but only to divest it of its feathers, which were to be worn by the chiefs alone. These plumes, the middle and longest of which may measure from 3 ft. to 3½ ft., with the upper surface, the throat, and chest, are of a resplendent golden-green,[1] while the lower parts are of a vivid scarlet. The middle feathers of the tail, ordinarily concealed, as are those of the Peacock, by the uropygials, are black, and the outer white with a black base. In the hen the bill is black, the crest more round and not filamentous, the uropygials scarcely elongated, and the vent only scarlet. The eyes are of a yellowish-brown. Southern examples from Costa Rica and Veragua have the tail-coverts much narrower, and have been considered to form a distinct species, P. costaricensis. Among other species are P. antisianus, P. fulgidus, P. auriceps and P. pavoninus, from various parts of South America, but though all are beautiful birds, none possess the wonderful singularity of the quezal. (A. N.)
QUEZALTENANGO, the capital of the department of Quezaltenango, Guatemala, 70 m. by road W. of Guatemala city at the terminus of a railway from Champerico on the Pacific coast. Pop. (1905) about 31,000. It is situated on the river Siguila, and at the foot of the volcano Santa Maria. In size the second city of the republic, it has a large agricultural trade and manufactures of linen, woolen and cotton goods. It contains a fine cathedral and some good public buildings, including two national institutes for higher education; and it is well supplied with water and electricity for light and power. The majority of its inhabitants are Indians or half-breeds of Quiché descent. Quetzaltenango was the capital of a Quiché kingdom, and was known as Xelahuh or Xelahue until 1524, when it was conquered by the Spaniards under Pedro de Alvarado. In 1902 it was partially destroyed by an earthquake and an eruption of Santa Maria.
QUIBERON, CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE OF. Quiberon Bay, on the S. coast of Brittany, France, was the scene of the great naval battle which defeated the plan laid by the ministers of King Louis XV. of France, for the invasion of England in 1759, during the Seven Years' War (q.v.). An army had been collected at Yannes, in the south-east of Brittany, and transports had been brought together in the landlocked waters of the Morbihan which are connected with Quiberon Bay. The scheme of the French ministers was to combine twenty-one ships of the line lying at Brest under the command of M. de Conflans, with twelve which were to be brought round from Toulon by M. de la Clue. The army was then to be carried to some point on the coast of England or Scotland by the united squadrons. The British government was well informed of its enemy's intentions, and took vigorous measures of defence. Admiral Sir E. Hawke, afterwards Lord Hawke, was directed to blockade Brest with a fleet of twenty-live sail of the line, four ships of fifty guns and nine frigates. The four ships of fifty guns together with four frigates were detached, first under Commodore John Reynolds, and then under Commodore Robert Duff, to lie in Quiberon Bay and watch the entry to the Morbihan. During the whole summer, from the beginning of June, Sir E. Hawke kept his station off Brest, and the detached squadron occupied Quiberon Bay. The task of blockading M. de la Clue at Toulon was given to Edward Boscawen, who had with him fourteen sail of the line. Boseawen reached his station on the 16th of May 1759. At the beginning of July want of stores and water, together with the injury inflicted on some of his vessels by a French battery, compelled him to go to Gibraltar to provision and refit. He reached the port on the 4th of August. On the 5th M. de la Clue left Toulon, and on the 17th passed the straits of Gibraltar, where he was sighted by the look-out ships of Boscawen. The British fleet hurried out to sea, and pursued in two divisions, separated by a distance of some miles owing to the haste with which they left port. During the night of the 17th and 18th of August five of M. de la Clue's ships lost sight of his flagship, and steered for Cadiz. The other seven, which had been delayed for a time in the hope of rejoining their consorts, were overtaken by Boscawen and attacked in the afternoon of the 18th. One, the “Centaur” (74), was captured after a very gallant resistance, in which the British flagship was severely damaged. During the night of the 18th–19th of August, two of the French ships altered course to the west, and escaped. The remaining four fled to the north, and into Portuguese waters, where two were driven ashore and destroyed, while two were captured near Lagos. The five in Cadiz were blockaded by Boscawen's second-in-command, Admiral Broderick. La Clue was mortally wounded, and died ashore in Portugal. Although the defeat of his squadron had ruined the scheme for the combination of their forces, the French ministers decided to persevere with the invasion. M. de Conflans was ordered to put to sea. On the 9th of November a severe gale forced Sir E. Hawke from in front of Brest, and as his ships were in want of stores he sailed for Torquay. Finding the way clear, Conflans put to sea on the 14th, and steered for Quiberon. Sir E. Hawke left Torquay to resume his station on the same day. On the 15th he learnt from a look-out ship that the French had been seen at sea to the north-west of Belleisle, and steering south-west. Concluding that they were bound for the Morbihan he followed. Calms and contrary winds prevented either fleet from making much progress till the evening of the 19th, when the French were rather over 60 m. to the south-west of Belleisle, which is south of Quiberon. The wind had now changed to the north-west and was beginning to blow hard. M. de Conflans made for Quiberon under reduced canvas for fear of making the land in the night, the coast being one of the most dangerous in the world, on account of the rocky islands of Houat and Hoedik, and the long string of reefs which lie inside Belleisle. Hawke was steering in the same direction farther out at sea. On the morning of the 20th of November, Conflans was nearing the south point of Belleisle. The small squadron of Commodore Duff, warned of his approach, endeavoured to escape to sea before he could shut them in at Quiberon. One of the ships worked out through the very dangerous passage to the north of Belleisle, the others came round the south of the island, where they were nearly cut off and captured. As the pursuers came close to them the sails of Hawke's fleet were seen rising over the horizon. M. de Conflans immediately called off the pursuers, and endeavoured to form his line of battle. By midday he was able to estimate the full strength of Hawke's fleet of twenty-three sail of the line, which with the four 50-gun ships of Commodore Duff made twenty-seven vessels to his twenty-one. He therefore altered his mind, and decided to run inside the islands of Houat and Hoedik, and gain the anchorage of Quiberon. He concluded that as the day was far advanced and the wind was increasing, the British admiral would not dare to follow him into so dangerous a place. But Sir E. Hawke considered that the circumstances justified him in taking all risks, and seeing his enemy in retreat he ordered a pursuit. As the van of the French led by their admiral was turning inside the Cardinal rocks at the southern end of the reefs, his rear was attacked. The two fleets entered the Bay late in the evening, and there followed a battle unique in naval history, for it was fought in the dark, among rocks, in a severe gale, and on a lee shore. Two of the British liners were wrecked on a rock called the Four, but five of the French were taken or
- ↑ Preserved specimens, exposed to the light, lose much of their beauty.
