Black-headed Trogon
Trogon melanocephalus
Handsome, medium-size, yellow-bellied trogon of tropical lowlands. Occurs in forest, but also in hedgerows, semi-open areas with taller trees, mangroves; not as tied to forest as is smaller Gartered Trogon. Perches at mid-upper levels, at times with several birds in a small area. Both male and female have a complete blue-gray eye-ring, and the underside of the tail is marked with big blocks of white. Digs its nests in arboreal termite nests.
Identification
The black-headed trogon is 27 to 28 cm (11 to 11 in) long and weighs about 74 to 95 g (2.6 to 3.4 oz). Adults of both sexes have slate-black to black head, neck, and chest. A sky-blue ring of bare skin surrounds the dark eye. A thin white line separates the chest from the rest of their underparts, which are cadmium to chrome yellow that becomes lighter at the vent area. The two inner pairs of tail feathers are metallic bronze breen to bluish green with black tips. The next pair are all black and the outermost three pairs are black with wide white tips. Their wings are slate black with some white. Adult males' upperparts are bright metallic bluish green to golden green with metallic blue to bluish violet rump and uppertail coverts. Adult females replace the male's metallic upperparts with dark slate.<p>Immature males have a mostly black tail with a limited amount of white and their wings have more white than adults'. Immature females' tails lack the black tips on the inner tail feathers, and like immature males also have less white on the tail than adults.
Taxonomy
The black-headed trogon is treated as monotypic by the International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World. However, the Clements taxonomy assigns it two subspecies, the nominate T. m. melanocephalus and T. m. illaetabilis.<p>This article follows the monotypic model.
- Scientific name
- Trogon melanocephalus
- Authority
- Gould, 1836
- Order
- Trogoniformes
- Family
- Trogonidae
- Genus
- Trogon
Range and habitat
The black-headed trogon is found on the Caribbean slope from southern Veracruz in Mexico south through Belize, northern Guatemala, and northern Honduras to central Nicaragua. It is also found on the Pacific slope from El Salvador through southern Honduras and western Nicaragua into northwestern Costa Rica. The species inhabits a variety of forest types including wet and moist tropical forest, pinelands, gallery forest, secondary forest, and dry forest. It favors the forest edges rather than the dense interior and is also found in other semi-open to open landscapes including banana and cacao plantations, gardens, and suburban areas. In elevation it usually is found between sea level and 600 m (2,000 ft) but does occur as high as 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon
Treron bicinctus
Bulky green pigeon of forested areas. Male has a bright orange breast with a pink upper quarter and a powder-blue nape. Female is green overall with a fainter blue-gray nape patch than the male. Both sexes are similar to Pink-necked Green-Pigeon, with which this species associates; note green face and throat in the male and weak but distinct nape patch in the female Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon. Often forages in numbers at fruiting trees alongside other pigeon species. Song is bizarre: a long rising note followed by a nasal, blubbering twitter.
Brown Fulvetta
Alcippe brunneicauda
As the name suggests, this is a fairly uninteresting-looking fulvetta without flashy distinguishing characteristics. Both sexes are brown with a gray head and a horn-colored bill. Most common in lowland and foothill forest; less frequently found in upper elevation montane forests. Typically moves in low and middle levels of forest, often in small flocks and as part of mixed flocks. Song is a high, thin, chime-like “tu-dee-tu-dee-tu-dee”.
Sao Tome White-eye
Zosterops feae
A small, active, mostly dull olive-green and gray warbler-like bird with a yellowish throat and a white eye-ring that is obvious with a good view. Endemic to São Tomé, where small groups regularly join mixed-species flocks. A fairly common resident in the canopy and middle levels of primary and secondary forest and tall trees in woodland, most common between 400 and 1600 meters of elevation. Calls include a dry, reedy trilling with some musical notes interspersed. Sao Tome White-eye may join the same flocks as Black-capped Speirops, which is slightly larger and has a dark cap.
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