Gartered Trogon

Birdwatching is a fascinating yet ever-changing science! The Gartered Trogon gets its French name from its yellow ocular circles, while Anglo-Saxon and Latin scientific names are generally related in all languages - who knows which idea they had when naming it! The Latin translation for Gartered Trogon could be caligatus - meaning soldier, black or dark. To make the Latin translation even more mysterious, part of the ornithologists consider the Trogon caligatus as a subspecies of the Trogon violaceus, whose differences rely in the proportion of black and violet blue on their heads. The Trogon caligatus measures 23 to 25 cm, while the male's beak is pale blue and its eyes are surrounded by yellow orbital circles. Its back of the neck, nape and throat are usually blue-violet and often appear black in the light (similar to the Trogon violaceus' subspecies braccatus, sallaei and concinnus, which can be seen in the Panama border and its head is fully black). The chest is violet blue, separated from the yellow belly by an apparent white line; the mantle and back are green with a few faint blue reflections in the back and the scapularies are green. Other characteristic of the Trogon is the fine white and black vermiculations in the coverts, which look a bit darker in the primaries - except for the remiges, which are black and not very marked compared to other Trogons'. The three lower pairs of rectrices are horizontally striped in black and white and present a more noticeable white mark at the tip; the white patch at the tip of the tail is bigger. The higher rectrices are emerald green and have a sharp black marking at their ends.Is the Gartered Trogon more enticing with her gaiters? Grey head with anthracite forecrown, the eye is outlined by two half white circles in front and behind the dark brown eye, the pale blue beak is marked with dark grey on the upper mandible. The grey chest is separated from the bright yellow belly by a more visible white line than in the male; the mantle and back are grey, the coverts are black striped horizontally with very neat white lines, the black remiges are marked with white at the tips, the tail is marked in the same way as its companion. The tarsi, little visible, are grey, the female hiding her gaiters! Juveniles take on the plumage of their mother, young males starting to have some green reflections on their back.