Adult female Collared Trogon

Sightings
This adult female Collared Trogon Trogon collaris was sitting quietly in full view alongside the main road which runs through the Tobago Forest Reserve. Three trogon species can be found in the forests of Trinidad and Tobago and we were fortunate to see all three species including three individual Collared Trogons.

Species
Trogons are sexually dimorphic and an adult female Collared Trogon can be identified by its brown head, breast and upperparts, brown tail with white outer tail feathers, white patch around the eye, a white pectoral band and pinkish underparts. 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.

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
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 in very low forest light at 1/400th of a second, f5.6 and ISO 6400.