Slaty-tailed Trogon

The Slaty-tailed Trogon is one of the largest trogons in its range, a striking lowland-forest bird with deep green upperparts, a black throat blending into a green chest, and a rich red lower breast and belly in males. Its bright yellow bill and red-orange bare orbital skin add further color. Unlike many other trogons, its undertail is plain slaty-gray to blackish rather than finely barred, a key identification feature. Females are duller, with gray-brown replacing the male's green and black.

Key field marks

• Large size; heavy build for a trogon.
• Male: green head/back, black throat grading into green breast, red lower breast/belly, plain (unbarred) dark slaty undertail, yellow bill.
• Female: gray-brown upperparts and breast, red belly.

Similar species

Collared Trogon and Black-throated Trogon both show finely barred undertails, unlike the plain slaty undertail of this species. Slaty-tailed Trogon's larger size and yellow bill also help distinguish it from smaller lowland trogons.

This species inhabits humid lowland evergreen forest, generally below about 1,000 m, from southern Mexico through Central America to western Colombia and Ecuador. It is a non-migratory resident of forest interior and edge, typically at mid to upper levels of the canopy.

Voice

A slow, mellow series of low, throaty notes, often described as a rhythmic "caw, caw, caw", delivered from a concealed perch.

Feeding

Like other trogons, it forages by sitting still and sallying to pluck fruit (especially figs) or snatch large insects from foliage in brief hovering flights, then returns to a perch to eat.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs excavate a cavity in a rotten tree trunk or large branch, sometimes taking over or enlarging an existing cavity such as an active termite or wasp nest. Both sexes share incubation duties and care of the young.