Collared Trogon

The Collared Trogon, an enigmatic name, the bird is known as Collared Trogon in nearly all languages except French! Perhaps Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot (1748-1831), the renowned French ornithologist who discovered the species in 1817, paid tribute to American painter and lithographer, Rosalba Peale (1799-1874) who was renowned for her bird works? A bit of mystery surrounding such a beautiful bird, measuring 25-29 cm, the distinct Collar gives its name to the species, which is subdivided into 8 subspecies. The dimorphism is very pronounced, the male has a strong yellow beak, with a slightly curved upper mandible and, like all trogonidae, beautiful black vibrisses. The eyes, surrounded by black like the parotids and the throat, have a rather thin orange-yellow orbital ring, the crown, mantle and back are emerald green. The scapulars are also green, then all the covers are adorned with a delicate horizontal black and white web pattern while the black remiges are clearly separated from each other by a white line. The throat and the beginning of the chest remain the same emerald green, an unmistakable white mark separates the chest from the venter, painted a remarkably intense red, the contrasts are even greater with the tail horizontally striped with black and white on its underside. Three distinct white spots are painted on the rectrices, the first about halfway down the tail, the other two at the extremities. The upper rectrices are pale green and contrast with the emerald green back. The legs, hardly visible, are grey. The female differs almost to the point of being a different bird: the yellow beak, like many female trogons (Trogon mexicanus or Massena's trogon) is adorned with a gray culmen. The eye is surrounded by a very clear white orbital ring, the parotids and the throat are anthracite.The crown, nape, mantle and back are a beautiful dark brown colour. The scapulars are light brown with dark brown mottles that are also found on the secondary remiges. The primary remiges are very dark brown, almost black, and have clear white margins. The female, wanting not to be outdone compared to her companion, presents a chest the same dark brown colour as the back, highlighted by a large horizontal white band. The belly and underside are red, with a lighter hue than the male. Even the tail is different, the upper rectrices are brown while the lower rectrices are grey with three horizontal white marks outlined in black, the outer edges of the rectrices are white, the tail finishing in a final black mark. Immature males will have coverts and remiges of a brown colour, a balanced black and white marking on the lower rectrices, while females will have a gradient of grey on the same feathers, the immatures more closely resembling the adult female colouration. There are eight subspecies, which, in addition to their location, present some differences among themselves: ssp collaris, giving its name to the species described in the previous lines; ssp puella, in Mexico and on either side of the Central American cordillera, is sometimes considered a distinct species, having a blue-green chest and a more finely striped dark and white tail; the female being lighter in all its tints, with notably an orange belly; the tail appearing mostly white, with grey-light brown in the centre; ssp extremus is smaller in the north-east of Panama; ssp heotinus with more prominent white marks on the tail and no orbital white circle on the Serrana del Darien to the north-west of Colombia; ssp virginalis to the west of Colombia and Ecuador, with a very bright blue-green back and faint white marks; the female being very light brown; ssp subtropicalis in Subtropical Colombia, with a greater wingspan and paler colouration than ssp virginalis; ssp exoptatus in the north of Venezuela, showing a copper green colouration on the back and chest and a longer tail; and ssp castaneus in Brazil, with scapulars and coverts a grey-black colour and coarser horizontal stripes. The species is known as the Collared Trogon.The observation location is essential for the differentiation of the ssp, or even other trogons, possible confusion with Mexican Trogon, Elegant Trogon, Masked Trogon and Collared Trogon.