Trogons | Trogonidae

Trogons | Trogones

Mexico and Central America are among the richest regions for the family, with fifteen species in three genera: the trogons, the quetzals and the Eared Quetzal of the mountain forests of western Mexico. They live in almost every forest type, from dry deciduous forest and mangrove to cloud forest. The body is compact, the head large and the neck short, and the bird sits upright and almost motionless for long periods on a branch in the mid-storey, turning only its head; often it is the series of hollow or barking calls that first betrays its presence. Insects and fruit are plucked from leaf or twig in a short fluttering sally. In the males head, breast and back are metallic green or blue-violet and the belly red or yellow; the sheen comes from the feather structure rather than pigment. The pattern on the underside of the tail differs between species and is a key identification feature. The male Resplendent Quetzal carries greatly elongated upper tail coverts that hang far beyond the tail; to the Maya and Aztecs these feathers were sacred. The nest is a cavity gnawed out in rotten wood, an arboreal termite nest or a wasp nest, with two or three unmarked eggs.