Green-backed Trogon

Overview

The green-backed trogon (Trogon viridis), also known as the Amazonian white-tailed trogon, is a relatively large bird in the family Trogonidae. It is characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, with males displaying vibrant blue and green plumage and females appearing duller with grey heads and backs.

Identification

• Males possess a dark blue head and upper breast, a green back, orange-yellow underparts, and black wings vermiculated with white.
• Males feature a pale bluish eye-ring and a blue bill, while their tail is green with undertail feathers having broad black bases and white tips.
• Females are duller, exhibiting a grey head, back, and breast, with black-and-white barring on the outer webs of the tail feathers.
• The song consists of approximately 20 cow-like notes that start slowly but accelerate towards the end.

Habitat

Found in tropical humid forests across South America, including the Amazon, the Guiana Shield, Trinidad, and the Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil. It is typically the commonest trogon within its range and is IUCN listed as Least Concern.

Diet

Feeds mainly on small fruit, supplemented by arthropods and lizards, particularly in the dry season when fruit is scarce. Despite this diet, they are among the most frugivorous trogons in their range and are less frequently seen in mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

The nest is built by the female, who excavates an upward-sloping tunnel ending in a breeding chamber within a termite nest or a hole in a rotten tree.