The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family contains 39 species in eight genera.The word "trogon" is Greek for "nibbling" and refers to the fact that these birds gnaw holes in trees to make their nests. Trogons are residents of tropical forests worldwide, with the greatest diversity in the Neotropics. The genus Apaloderma contains the three African species, Harpactes and Apalharpactes are Asian, and the remaining four genera are found in Central and South America. They 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. Trogons are generally not migratory, although some species undertake partial local movements. Trogons have soft, often colourful, feathers with distinctive male and female plumage. They are the only type of animal with a heterodactyl toe arrangement. The trogons are insectivorous, usually hunting from a perch. They nest in holes dug into trees or termite nests, laying 2-4 white or pastel-coloured eggs. The majority of trogons are birds of tropical and subtropical forests. They have a cosmopolitan distribution in the worlds wet tropics, being found in the Americas, Africa and Asia. A few species are distributed into the temperate zone, with one species, the Elegant Trogon, reaching the south of the United States specifically southern Arizona and the surrounding area. The Narina Trogon of Africa is slightly exceptional in that it utilises a wider range of habitats than any other trogon, ranging from dense forest to fairly open savannah, and from the Equator to southern South Africa. It is the most widespread and successful of all the trogons. The Eared Quetzal of Mexico is also able to use more xeric habitats, but preferentially inhabits forests. Most other species are more restricted in their habitat, with several species being restricted to undisturbed primary forest. Within forests they tend to be found in the mid story, occasionally in the canopy. Red-headed Trogon, Harpactes erythrocephalus, Khao Yai National Park, Pak Chong, Thailand Photo: JJ Harrison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harpactes_erythrocephalus_-_Khao_Yai.jpg Some species, particularly the quetzals, are adapted to cooler montane forest. There are a number of insular species; these include a number of species found in the Greater Sundas, one species in the Philippines as well as two monophyletic genera endemic to Cuba and Hispaniola respectively. Outside of South Asia and the Caribbean, however, trogons are generally absent from islands, especially oceanic ones. Trogons are generally sedentary, with no species known to undertake long migrations. A small number of species are known to make smaller migratory movements, particularly montane species which move to lower altitudes during different seasons. This has been demonstrated using radio tracking in the Resplendent Quetzal in Costa Rica and evidence has been accumulated for a number of other species. The Narina Trogon of Africa is thought to undertake some localised short distance migrations over parts of its range, for example birds of Zimbabwe's plateau savannah depart after the breeding season. A complete picture of these movements is however lacking. Trogons are difficult to study as their thick tarsi (feet bones) make ringing studies difficult. The trogons as a family are fairly uniform in appearance, having compact bodies and long tails (very long in the case of the quetzals), and short necks. Trogons range in size from the 23 cm, 40 gram Scarlet-rumped Trogon to the 40 cm, 210 gram Resplendent Quetzal (not including the male quetzal's 0.91 m tail streamers). Their legs and feet are weak and short, and trogons are essentially unable to walk beyond a very occasional shuffle along a branch. They are even incapable of turning around on a branch without using their wings. The ratio of leg muscle to body weight in trogons is only 3 percent, the lowest known ratio of any bird. Trogons, Trogon collaris (two left pictures) and Trogon massena, Costa Rica. Photo: © Vladimir Dinets The arrangement of toes on the feet of trogons is also unique amongst birds, although essentially resembling the zygodactyl’s two forward two backward arrangement of parrots and other near-passerines, the actual toes are arranged with usually inner hallux being the outer hind toe, an arrangement that is referred to as heterodactylous. The strong bill is short and the gape wide, particularly in the fruit eating quetzals, with a slight hook at the end. The African trogons are generally green on the back with red bellies. The New World trogons similarly have green or deep blue upperparts but are more varied in their lowerparts. The Asian species tend towards red underparts and brown backs. The wings are short but strong, with the wing muscle ratio being around 22% of the body weight. In spite of the strength of their flight, trogons do not fly often or for great distances, generally flying no more than a few hundred metres at a time. Only the montane species tend to make long distance flights. Shorter flights tend to be direct and swift, but longer flights are slightly undulating. Their flight can be surprisingly silent (for observers), although that of a few species is reportedly quite noisy.

Order Trogoniformes
Family:Trogonidae

Engelsk	Norsk	Latinsk
Bare-cheeked Trogon	Gulkinntrogon	Apaloderma aequatoriale
Narina Trogon	Narinatrogon	Apaloderma narina
Bar-tailed Trogon	Blåbeltetrogon	Apaloderma vittatum
Eared Quetzal (Eared Trogon)	Øreketsal	Euptilotis neoxenus
Philippine Trogon	Rosenbrysttrogon	Harpactes ardens
Diard's Trogon	Rosenringtrogon	Harpactes diardii
Scarlet-rumped Trogon	Rødgumptrogon	Harpactes duvaucelii
Red-headed Trogon	Rødhodetrogon	Harpactes erythrocephalus
Malabar Trogon	Hindutrogon	Harpactes fasciatus
Red-naped Trogon	Rødnakketrogon	Harpactes kasumba
Sumatran Trogon	Sumatratrogon	Harpactes mackloti
Orange-breasted Trogon	Olivenhodetrogon	Harpactes oreskios
Cinnamon-rumped Trogon	Kaneltrogon	Harpactes orrhophaeus
Javan (Blue-tailed) Trogon)	Blåhaletrogon	Harpactes reinwardtii
Ward's Trogon	Rosenbryntrogon	Harpactes wardi
Whitehead's Trogon	Rødhettetrogon	Harpactes whiteheadi
Crested Quetzal	Krøllketsal	Pharomachrus antisianus
Golden-headed Quetzal	Svarthaleketsal	Pharomachrus auriceps
White-tipped Quetzal	Bronsekroneketsal	Pharomachrus fulgidus
Resplendent Quetzal	Praktketsal	Pharomachrus mocinno
Resplendent Quetzal		Pharomachrus mocinno mocinno
Resplendent Quetzal		Pharomachrus mocinno costaricensis
Pavonine Quetzal	Amazonketsal	Pharomachrus pavoninus
Hispaniolan Trogon	Hispaniolatrogon	Priotelus roseigaster
Cuban Trogon	Kvasthaletrogon	Priotelus temnurus
Orange-bellied Trogon	Ildbuktrogon	Trogon aurantiiventris
Baird's Trogon	Blåryggtrogon	Trogon bairdii
Gartered Trogon		Trogon caligatus
White-tailed Trogon		Trogon chionurus
Citreoline Trogon	Guløyetrogon	Trogon citreolus
Lattice-tailed Trogon	Netthaletrogon	Trogon clathratus
Collared Trogon	Båndtrogon	Trogon collaris
White-eyed Trogon	Hvitøyetrogon	Trogon comptus
Blue-crowned Trogon	Blåkronetrogon	Trogon curucui
Elegant Trogon	Fagertrogon	Trogon elegans
Slaty-tailed Trogon	Oransjenebbtrogon	Trogon massena
Black-headed Trogon	Svarthodetrogon	Trogon melanocephalus
Black-tailed Trogon	Svarthaletrogon	Trogon melanurus
Ecuadorian Trogon		Trogon mesurus
Mountain Trogon	Mexicotrogon	Trogon mexicanus
Masked Trogon	Masketrogon	Trogon personatus
Black-throated Trogon	Edeltrogon	Trogon rufus
Surucua Trogon	Surucuatrogon	Trogon surrucura
Brazilian Trogon		Trogon surrucura aurantius
Violaceous Trogon	Gulbrilletrogon	Trogon violaceus
Amazonian Trogon		Trogon violaceus ramonianus
Green-backed Trogon also previous White-tailed Trogon		Trogon viridis

Narina Trogon, Apaloderma narina Adult male Narina Trogon, Apaloderma narina, perched in Pigeonwood. Photo: Patty McGann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Narina_Trogon_(Apaloderma_narina)_(1).jpg

The Narina Trogon, Apaloderma narina, is a medium-sized (up to 34 cm long), largely green forest bird in the Trogonidae family. It is the most widespread and catholic in habitat choice of three Apaloderma trogons. The species name is Khoikhoi in origin, believed to be named after Narina, the mistress of the French ornithologist François Le Vaillant. Both sexes have vivid, gingery green upperpart plumage. The tail feathers have a metallic blue-green gloss. The outer three rectices on each side are tipped and fringed white, giving the undertail of perched birds a characteristic white appearance The wing coverts are a grizzled grey, and remiges mostly colourless grey. The male especially, has bright amaranth red underside plumage and bare, green gape and eye flanges. The female has brown face and chest plumage, blue skin orbiting the eyes and duller red plumage below. Immature birds resemble females, but have distinct white tips to the tertials (inner wing), and less distinct gape and eye flanges. The species has a large range in Africa, inhabiting lowland to highland, valley and riparian forests, from tropical to temperate regions, those occurring in highlands dispersing seasonally to lower levels. It is found from Sierra Leone to Ethiopia, and east Africa to eastern and southern South Africa. The diet consists mainly of insects and small invertebrates as well as rodents and small reptiles. They nest in a tree hollow in which both sexes incubate or brood.

Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno A male Resplendent Quetzal, Costa Rica Photo: Dick Bos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bosfoto_Quetzal.jpg

The Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, is a bird in the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama (unlike the other quetzals of the genus Pharomachrus, which are found in South America and eastern Panama). It is well known for its colorful plumage. There are two subspecies, Pharomachrus mocinno mocinno and Pharomachrus mocinno costaricensis. This quetzal plays an important role in Mesoamerican mythologies. The Resplendent Quetzal is Guatemala's national bird, and an image of it is on the flag and coat of arms of Guatemala. It is also the name of the local currency (abbreviation GTQ). This species is 36–40 cm long, plus up to 65 cm of tail streamer for the male, and weighs about 210 g. It is the largest representative of the trogon order. The subspecies costaricensis is slightly smaller than the nominate race and has shorter narrower tail plumes. Resplendent Quetzals have a green body (showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet) and red breast. Their green upper tail coverts hide their tails and in breeding males are particularly splendid, being longer than the rest of the body. The primary wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. The male has a helmet-like crest. The bill, which is partly covered by green filamentous feathers, is yellow in mature males and black in females. Their habitat is montane cloud forests of Central America (from Southern Mexico to Panama). Resplendent Quetzals are weak fliers. Their known predators include the Ornate Hawk-eagle and owls as adults, Emerald Toucanets, Brown Jays, Long-tailed Weasels, squirrels, and the Kinkajou as nestlings or eggs. Resplendent quetzal feeding on wild avocados BBC Natural History Unit & BBC Natural History Sound Library www.arkive.org Resplendent Quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, although they mix their diet with insects (notably wasps, ants, and larvae), frogs and lizards. Particularly important are wild avocados and other fruit of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits, which helps to disperse these trees. Resplendent Quetzals usually live alone when not breeding. They are monogamous territorial breeders, with the territory size being measured in Guatemala as 6-10 ha. They are also seasonal breeders, with the breeding season being March to April in Mexico, May to June in El Salvador and March to May in Guatemala. When breeding, females lay two pale blue eggs in a nest placed in a hole which they carve in a rotten tree. A tree in the required stage of decomposition is susceptible to weather damage, and the availability of suitable trees may limit the Resplendent Quetzal population. Resplendent quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno Photo: D.Hatcher, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quetzal01.jpg Both parents take turns at incubating, with their long tail-covert feathers folded forwards over the back and out of the hole, where they tend to look like a bunch of fern growing out of the hole. The incubation period lasts about 18 days, during which the male generally incubates the eggs during the day while the female incubates them at night. When the eggs hatch, both parents take care of the young, feeding them fruit, berries, insects, lizards, and small frogs. However, the female often neglects and even abandons the young near the end of the rearing period, leaving it up to the male to continue caring for the offspring until they are ready to survive on their own. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resplendent_Quetzal