Bird Photographs of Trogons in Panama

Bird Photographs of Trogons in Panama

This is a post that includes pictures of birds that we found in near the Canopy Family Lodge in Panama.  It is part of a travelogue of our birding trip to Panama.  If you would like to go to Part 1 of the travelogue (which includes pictures of the places we went, birds we saw, and some of the mammals we observed)  CLICK HERE.

We encountered four types of Trogons during our birding trip in Panama: Slaty-tailed, Black-tailed, Gartered, and Collared and I was able to get decent shots of all but the Black-tailed Trogon.

Collared Trogon

On the second day of our trip we encountered a Collared Trogon alongside the road by Cerro Gaital, a peak with an elevation of 1,140 m (3,714 ft).  We were staying at the Panama Family’s Canopy Lodge nearby.  This was the only sighting of a Trogon at higher elevations.  The other three species of Trogons were only seen at lower elevations (< 775 feet).  The first two pictures of this Collared Trogon are of the female and the last two are of the male. Note the broken white eyering on the female whereas the male doesn’t have an eyering but does have an white collar beneath its green hood.

Gartered Trogon

At lower elevations (while staying at the Canopy Tower near Panama City) we had good looks at a Gartered Trogon pair.  Note the bright yellow eyering on the male and both have black and white striping on the underside of the tail.  The first three pics are of the male and the fourth pic is of the shy female.

Slaty-tailed Trogon 1

In an earlier post I shared some pictures of a pair of Slaty-tailed Trogons working on building a nest inside a termite nest.   This post adds some additional pictures from that encounter.  Both times we saw a Slaty-tailed Trogon pair as they were building a nest – inside a termite nest!  Here’s a look at the termite nest; note the the round hole dug out of the bottom by the Trogons.

Both the male and the female were nearby.  Below is a shot of the male and if you look closely you can see dust from the termite nest excavation on its bill.

The female Slaty-tailed Trogon sat quietly nearby.

Here’s the male working to enlarge the hole so they can build their nest inside.  According to our guide this was an active termite nest but somehow the termites and Trogons form a symbiotic relationship, leaving each other alone.

Slaty-tailed Trogon 2

We had a second encounter with Slaty-tailed Trogons building a nest inside a termite nest along the famous Pipeline Road in Colon, Panama. Here are just a couple more pics: a couple of the male posing and then a couple of the male working on the nest.

Hope you liked this in-depth look at some of the Trogons found in Panama.   If you would like to go back to Part 1 of the travelogue (which includes pictures of the places we went, birds we saw, and some of the mammals we observed)  CLICK HERE.

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