Baird’s Trogon

Trogon bairdii

eBird offers this description of the Baird’s Trogon:  Unique trogon with dark purplish head and breast, turquoise back, white undertail, and pale blue bill and eyering. No white band between chest and belly. Female mostly gray with red belly, perhaps most similar to Slaty-tailed Trogon but note pale blue eyering, gray bill, and thin white bars on undertail. Limited range. Look for a bird sitting upright and still at middle levels in the forest, slowly turning head searching for prey. Usually single or in pairs. Song is a fairly fast, accelerating series of cluck notes.

The Birds of the World website introduces the Baird’s Trogon with this descriptive information:  The Baird’s Trogon is a loud, colorful trogon of Costa Rica and Panama. Within its small range, this species can be found in the canopy of humid rainforests, occasionally venturing into forest edge to visit fruiting trees. Its distinctive tail pattern makes this species unlikely to be confused with other trogons within its range. Mainly a fruit eater, the Baird’s Trogon has also been observed consuming insects and even small lizards. Its population status is unknown and more work needs to be done examining this species’ population biology. Due to its small range, the Baird Trogon has been listed as near threatened on IUCN’s Watchlist. The greatest threats to the Baird’s Trogon are deforestation and habitat fragmentation.

I saw my first Baird’s Trogon  while walking a trail at Carara National Park in Costa Rica on the morning of February 10, 2023.  Our guide had spotted this bird and got him in his scope.  I got a good look at the bird using the scope, then took a picture of the image on the scope with my cellphone.