From Opus

Revision as of 17:22, 1 February 2012

Photo by Gary Clark
Location: Cobá, Querétaro, Mexico

Trogon melanocephalus

Identification

Black head, upperparts and chest. Yellow underparts. Black and white barred tail. The black eye with bluish-white eyering is diagnostic. Grey bill, legs and feet.

Distribution

Central America: found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• T. m. melanocephalus:

• Gulf-Caribbean slope of eastern Mexico to north-eastern Costa Rica

• T. m. illaetabilis:

• Western Costa Rica

Habitat

Rainforests and dry tropical woodland; fields with scattered trees.

Behaviour

A calm, confiding bird that often allows close approach. Will remain perched almost motionless on a limb at mid-level in the forest for many minutes at a time, slowly looking around. When food is found, it flies very quickly to capture it and return to a perch.

Diet

The diet includes caterpillars.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

External Links