Black-headed Trogon

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.

Vocalizations

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Listen in an external program

Recording by NJLarsen, Vigia Chico Rd, Quintana Roo, Mexico 06 May 2012. Bird is subspecies melanocephalus. The sound is a duet by two (or more?) birds. Chirps from other species are also heard.

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

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-headed Trogon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-headed_Trogon

External Links

Search for photos of Black-headed Trogon in the gallery