Choco Trogon

If all trogons are beautiful and colourful, only one bears a Latin name that truly describes it: Trogon comptus, meaning 'elegant and attractive'! A large trogon, 28-29 cm in length, with pronounced sexual dimorphism, probably very close to Trogon clathratus, the Band-tailed Trogon, to Trogon melanurus, the Black-tailed Trogon, and to Trogon massena, the Massena's Trogon, with whom it shares the same distribution area. The auriculars, the throat, the forehead and the upper part of the eye are black, maybe that's why Americans call it Choco Trogon; the male shows a strong yellow beak, the iris is black surrounded by a white orbital ring which is the characteristic identity of the Throat-white Trogon (a feature also present in the Band-tailed trogon). The crown, the nape, the mantle and the back are emerald green, the lower back with a hint of blue; the scapulars keep the green from the back, the coverts have very fine black and white horizontal lines that give a cloud-like stunning effect; the black wing feathers show white margins. The female is just as attractive, with shades of grey. The beak is yellow with a black-grey culmen, the eye has the same white orbital ring, the auriculars less marked than that of the male are dark grey, the crown, forehead and nape are light grey, as well as the mantle and the back; if the scapulars keep this same light grey, the coverts are rather anthracite dark grey and, remarkably, don't show any vermiculation; the black wing feathers show clear white edges.The grey chest coloring of the Choco Trogon goes lower than a male, resulting in a bright red belly. The tail has dark grey lower rectrices and light grey upper rectrices. The tarsi are brown-gray. Juveniles have rarely been observed, but may probably resembles their mothers. As bird-watching is an evolving science, renowned American ornithologist Paul Austin Jonsgard (born 28.06.1931) believes that Trogon comptus is a subspecies of Trogon clathratus, the ladder-backed trogon.