It’s time to unmask the beauty of the elegant Masked Trogon (Trogon personatus) who is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. They have 8 different subspecies:
- T. p. assimilis is found in the subtropics of the west Andean slope in Ecuador.
- T. p. duidae is found on Mount Duida in the tepui region of southern Venezuela; males of this subspecies are reddish-bronze on the back.
- T. p. personatus is found in the subtropical Andes of Venezuela, central and east Andean slopes in Colombia, and east Andean slopes in Ecuador and Peru; males of this subspecies are glossy green above.
- T. p. ptaritepui is found in the tepui region of southern Venezuela; males of this subspecies are golden-green on the back.
- T. p. roraimae is found on Auyantepui and Monte Roraima, on the border between Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil.
- T. p. sanctamartae is found in the Santa Marta Mountains of northeastern Colombia.
- T. p. submontanus is found in the Andean foothills in Bolivia.
- T. p. temperatus, sometimes considered to be a separate species, the highland trogon, is found in the temperate Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
I took the photos below from the verandah of the El Dorado Reserve Lodge. This female bird (T. p. sanctamartae) seemed to know how gorgeous she is and made sure I got her good side – both of them!
Here’s a male bird from the Mindo area.
Another male from Cabanas San Isidro
They have a huge range throughout the mountainous areas of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia. You may get lucky as I did at Mindo, San Isidro, El Dorado and Rio Blanco.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MASKED TROGONS
VIDEOS
This clip from the Mindo area has the male bird’s call.
A quiet but curious female.