Male Collared Trogon

Sightings
This male Collared Trogon Trogon collaris was sitting quietly in full view above the Blanchisseuse Road and close to the Asa Wright Centre. Three trogon species can be found in the forests of Trinidad and Tobago and we were fortunate to see all three species on this morning along this same stretch of road.

Species
Trogons are sexually dimorphic and an adult male Collared Trogon is very attractive and not normally seen as well as this. It is a resident of tropical forests where it nests in a hole in a termite nest or tree, with a typical clutch of two white eggs. Collared Trogons feed on insects and fruit, and their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits. Although their flight is fast, they are reluctant to fly any distance. They typically perch upright and motionless, usually facing away from the camera lens.

Status and Distribution
Collared Trogon is a species of least concern with a decreasing population in its large range of nearly 17 million square kilometres. It is found in the warmer parts of the Neotropics and there are ten subspecies of which T. c. collaris is found on Trinidad and Tobago. It is an uncommon resident on Trinidad and Tobago where it can be found in its forest habitat at usually 200 metres above sea level.

References
Asa Wright Centre; BirdLife; Wikipedia; World Bird Names; Kenefick, M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 168.

Photograph
The photograph was taken hand held in very low forest light at 1/125th of a second, f5.6 and ISO 4000.