Ecuadorian Trogon
Trogon mesurus
Large, red-bellied trogon found only in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Both sexes have white eyes, plain black tail, mostly yellow bill, and a variable amount of white on breast. Male is mostly green with a black face. Female is mostly gray with a dark top to her yellow bill. Very similar to Blue-tailed Trogon, but usually shows a white spot or stripe on breast, and prefers dry and semi-humid forest. No overlap with Black-tailed Trogon. Perches on tree branches for long periods, occasionally sallying out to take fruits or insects. Song is a leisurely series of whistles or hoots.
Identification
The Ecuadorian trogon is 30.5 to 32 cm (12 to 13 in) long. One male weighed 96 g (3.4 oz) and a female 100 g (3.5 oz). The male has a black face and throat with a red ring around the eye. The crown, nape, upperparts, and upper breast are iridescent green. A white band separates the upper breast from the deep red lower breast, belly, and vent. The upperside of the tail is green, and the underside is slaty gray. The folded wing has fine black and grayish white vermiculation. The female replaces the male's green parts with shades of gray.
Taxonomy
What is now the Ecuadorian trogon went through several scientific name changes. The last before the current binomial was Trogon melanurus mesurus, a subspecies of black-tailed trogon. Genetic studies in the early 2000s determined, that it is a species in its own right. It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Trogon mesurus
- Authority
- (Cabanis & Heine, 1863)
- Order
- Trogoniformes
- Family
- Trogonidae
- Genus
- Trogon
Range and habitat
The Ecuadorian trogon is found from Ecuador's most northerly province, Esmeraldas, south into Peru's Lambayeque Province. It inhabits the edges and interior of humid evergreen forest and semideciduous forest. In Ecuador, it ranges in elevation from sea level to about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) and in Peru it occurs between 400 and 1,250 m (1,300 and 4,100 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The feeding behavior and diet of the Ecuadorian trogon have not been studied. It is assumed to sally from a perch to pluck fruit or arthropods from vegetation in the same manner as other trogons.<p>The only described nests of the Ecuadorian trogon were cavities excavated in active arboreal termitaria. The clutch size was three eggs. Both sexes incubated the eggs.<p>The Ecuadorian trogon's song is "a slow, short series of cow notes that often starts slowly and builds in strength, e.g., cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh-cow-cow-ców-ców-ców." Both sexes make a call of "a rapid series of churring notes: crra crra crra crra."
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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