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  Profile

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  In flight

Trogons & Quetzals

Black-tailed Trogon

Trogon melanurus

• uncommon
• 35 km/h
• Least Concern

Amazonian trogon, red belly and yellow bill. Sits motionless in canopy, then snatches insects mid-air. Precise delivery.

Population

Estimated 5-50 million mature individuals (BirdLife International, 2019); described as common across a very large range (~8.52 million km²), with a moderately declining trend

Habitat

Humid lowland and foothill forest (primary and secondary), rainforest, gallery forest, transitional and swamp forest, mangrove vegetation, and terra firme/várzea forest, from sea level up to about 2,200 m depending on subspecies

Fun fact

The Black-tailed Trogon nests in cavities it excavates within active arboreal termite nests, laying just 2-3 eggs per clutch.

Range

Panama (east of the Canal Zone) through Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana), Amazonian and northeastern Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and northern Bolivia

Diet

Wide variety of insects and fruit, occasionally small amphibians and reptiles

Size

0.29 m