__NOTOC__ The Narina trogon (''Apaloderma narina'') is a largely green and red, medium-sized (32–34 cm long), bird of the family

Trogonidae The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Early E ...

. It is native to forests and woodlands of the

Afrotropics The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

. Though it is the most widespread and catholic in habitat choice of the three ''

Apaloderma ''Apaloderma'' is a genus of birds in the family Trogonidae. The name is a compound word composed of two Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek ...

'' species, their numbers are locally depleted due to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. Some populations are sedentary while others undertake regular movements. The species name commemorates Narina, mistress of French

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

François Levaillant François Levaillant (born Vaillant, later in life as Le Vaillant, ''"The Valiant"'') (6 August 1753 – 22 November 1824) was a French author, explorer, naturalist, zoological collector, and noted ornithologist. He described many new species of ...

, whose name he derived from a

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...

word for "flower", as her given name was difficult to pronounce.

Description

left, 160px, It is sexually dimorphic, with males more brightly coloured. Both sexes have vivid, gingery green upperpart plumage. The tail feathers have a metallic blue-green gloss. The outer three rectices on each side are tipped and fringed white, giving the undertail of perched birds a characteristic white appearance (compare

bar-tailed trogon The bar-tailed trogon (''Apaloderma vittatum'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is a resident bird to central Africa that eats primarily insects and fruits. Description The bar-tailed trogon averages about long. The bill and f ...

). The wing coverts are a grizzled grey, and

remige Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

s mostly colourless grey. The male especially, has bright

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...

red underside plumage and bare, green

gape The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, ...

and eye flanges. The female has brown face and chest plumage, blue skin orbiting the eyes and duller red plumage below. Immature birds resemble females, but have distinct white tips to the

tertials Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

(inner wing), and less distinct gape and eye flanges.

Range and habitat

The species has a large range in Africa, inhabiting lowland to highland, valley and

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir. Etymology The term riparian comes from the Latin word '' ...

s, from tropical to temperate regions, those occurring in highlands dispersing seasonally to lower levels. It is found from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, and

east Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

to eastern and southern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Due to its wide range and varied habitat choice, the Narina trogon is considered to be a species of least conservation concern.

Habits and nesting

The diet consists mainly of insects and small invertebrates as well as rodents and small reptiles. The call is a grating, low repeated hoot, given by males only, in defending territory or attracting mates. The male's bare, blue-green throat patch is expanded when calling and both sexes may fluff out the breast feathers in display. They nest in a

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees, and are a prominent feature of nat ...

in which both sexes incubate or brood.

Races

Narina Trogon - Uganda H8O4347 (16120379110), crop

There are 4 to 6 accepted races: * ''A. n.'' subsp. ''constantia'' Sharpe & Ussher, 1872 :Range: Senegal to Nigeria * ''A. n.'' subsp. ''arcanum'' Clancey, 1959 :Range: Chad to n Kenya * ''A. n.'' subsp. ''brachyurum'' Chapin, 1923 :Range: s Cameroon to

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...

* ''A. n.'' subsp. ''littorale'' van Someren, 1931 – Type from Sokoke Forest :Range: Somalia to

Chirinda Forest The Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve is situated on the slopes of Mount Selinda, south of Chipinge, in the Chipinge Highlands of Manicaland, Zimbabwe, and is administered by the Forestry Commission. The reserve is situated at between in altit ...

, Zimbabwe * ''A. n.'' subsp. ''rufiventre'' A.J.C.Dubois, 1897 – Type from

Mpala Mpala is the location of an early Catholic mission in the Belgian Congo. A military station was established at Mpala on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in May 1883. It was transferred to the White Fathers missionaries in 1885. At one time it was hop ...

, DRC :Range: s DRC to s Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia to

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

* ''A. n.'' subsp. ''narina'' (Stephens, 1815) – Type from

Knysna Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47. ...

, South Africa :Range: South Africa to s Mozambique, winters northwards to Malawi

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
* Narina trogon
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q370629

Narina trogon __NOTOC__ The Narina trogon (''Apaloderma narina'') is a largely green and red, medium-sized (32–34 cm long), bird of the family Trogonidae. It is native to forests and woodlands of the Afrotropics. Though it is the most widespread and cat ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa