From Opus

Trogon personatus

Male. Photo by Gary Clark
Location: Tandayapa Valley, NW Ecuador

Female. Photo by Gary Clark
Location: Tandayapa Valley, NW Ecuador

[edit] Identification

Male: Green head, chest, and back on male, with black mask, black eye with orange surround, and red breast separated from chest with narrow white band. Female: Similar, except that green plumage is replaced by light brown, eye surround is gray, and there is a small white patch behind the eye. Yellow bill, black primaries.

[edit] Similar Species

All trogons are similar, but undertail is diagnostic to separate this from the others: Note three white bands, with fine white and black striping between. Range is also indicative; others occupy different elevations.

• Collared Trogon: Tail stripes bolder, occurs below 1300m.
• Blue-crowned Trogon: Bluish-green head, bolder tail stripes, only on eastern slopes below 1100m.
• Black-tailed Trogon: Black undertail, white eye, below 800m. on both slopes.

[edit] Distribution

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. See Taxonomy section for detailed distribution of subspecies.

[edit] Taxonomy

Nine subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• T. p. sanctaemartae - Santa Marta Mountains, ne Colombia
• T. p. ptaritepui - s Venezuela
• T. p. personatus - w Venezuela, e Colombia, e Peru
• T. p. assimils - w [[Ecuador], ne Peru
• T. p. temperatus - Andes of c Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
• T. p. heliothrix - Montane forests, Peru
• T. p. submontanus - Foothills of Andes, s Peru and Bolivia
• T. p. duidae - s Venezuela, restricted to Mt. Duida
• T. p. roraimae - along the Venezuela-Guyana border

[edit] Habitat

Lower and middle moist montane forests between 1500m. and 3000m., both slopes of Andes

[edit] Behaviour

A patient, relatively tame species that perches almost motionless on branches, to sally forth for insects, then returns often to the same perch. Usually seen in mating pairs.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.

[edit] External Links

• View movie-file of this species (in Picasa video format) here
• View movie-file of this species (in Picasa video format) here