Masked trogon

Masked trogon
Male in Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Ecuador
Female, Tandayapa Valley, NW Ecuador
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Trogoniformes
Family:	Trogonidae
Genus:	Trogon
Species:	T. personatus
Binomial name
Trogon personatus Gould, 1842

The masked trogon (Trogon personatus) is a species of

Taxonomy

There are eight recognized subspecies of masked trogon:^[2]

• T. p. assimilis is found in the subtropics of the west
  Andean slope in Ecuador
  .
• T. p. duidae is found on Mount Duida in the tepui region of southern Venezuela; males of this subspecies are reddish-bronze on the back.
• T. p. personatus is found in the subtropical Andes of Venezuela, central and east Andean slopes in Colombia, and east Andean slopes in Ecuador and Peru; males of this subspecies are glossy green above.
• T. p. ptaritepui is found in the tepui region of southern Venezuela; males of this subspecies are golden-green on the back.
• T. p. roraimae is found on
  Monte Roraima, on the border between Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil
  .
• T. p. sanctamartae is found in the
  Santa Marta Mountains
  of northeastern Colombia.
• T. p. submontanus is found in the Andean
  foothills in Bolivia
  .
• T. p. temperatus, sometimes considered to be a separate species, the highland trogon, is found in the temperate Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Description

The masked trogon is a mid-sized trogon, averaging 27 centimetres (11 in) in length and 56 grams (2.0 oz) in mass. Like all trogons, it displays sexual dimorphism. The upperparts, head, and upper chest of the male are variously glossy green, reddish-bronze, or golden-green (depending on the subspecies). The belly and lower breast are red; the latter separated from the greenish upper chest by a narrow white band. The male has a distinct eye-ring, which is red in most subspecies, but tending towards orange in the subspecies from the tepuis. The female is brown above, with a pinkish to red belly and breast; the white band separating brown and red on her underside is often either narrow or obscured.^[3] Females of all subspecies have a partial white eye-ring.^[3]

Behavior

Feeding

Like all trogons, the masked trogon feeds on both fruits and insects.^[3]

Breeding

The masked trogon excavates a cavity nest in the soft wood of a rotting vertical tree trunk.^[4]

References