Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina Scientific name definitions

A striking bird with bold patches of green and red plumage and bright blue or bronzy blue-green bare skin patches on the face, Narina Trogon is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. One of only three species of trogon in Africa, Narina Trogon appears to be most closely related to Bare-cheeked Trogon (A. aequatoriale; 1 Hosner, P.A., Sheldon, F.H., Lim Haw Chuan and Moyle, R.G. (2010). Phylogeny and biogeography of the Asian trogons (Aves: Trogoniformes) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Mol. Phyl. & Evol.. 57(3): 1219–1225. Close ). Narina Trogon is found in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from montane rainforest, gallery forest, open savanna woodland, juniper woodland and arid woodland and thornbrush, as well as human-modified habitats including suburban gardens. While some populations are sedentary, others are migratory, some moving in to lower elevations after breeding. Like other trogons, this species nests in cavities in trees, where both male and female care for chicks. In part owing to their large distribution and wide variety of habitats occupied, Narina Trogons face no immediate conservation concerns.

30–32 cm; 51–95 g. Male of nominate subspecies has bill yellow with pale blue flashes at base and under eye; otherwise head to middle breast and upperparts brilliant metallic green, mid-breast to vent geranium-red; wingpanel finely barred blackish and pale gray or whitish; uppertail dark blue-green, with three outer feathers white, undertail largely white; underwing with conspicuous white bar. Female brown on face and throat, pinkish gray on breast, red on belly and vent; bare facial skin blue or bronzy blue-green. Compared to Bar-tailed Trogon (A. vittatum, from which often segregated by altitude in some regions; 2 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ), present species has unbarred tail, and compared to Bare-cheeked Trogon (A. aequatoriale), it lacks bright yellow facial skin; calls differ from both species (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile like female, but with less pink on belly, white- or buff-tipped inner secondaries and larger wing-coverts (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ).

Recent molecular data suggest that this species and Bare-cheeked Trogon (A. aequatoriale) are sister-taxa (1 Hosner, P.A., Sheldon, F.H., Lim Haw Chuan and Moyle, R.G. (2010). Phylogeny and biogeography of the Asian trogons (Aves: Trogoniformes) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Mol. Phyl. & Evol.. 57(3): 1219–1225. Close ).

Four subspecies recognized here. Subspecies arcanum and rufiventre, which are recognized by some authorities (e.g., 4 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Editors (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth edition. Volume 1. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close , 5 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2014). HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1. Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), are here synonymized with nominate.

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SUBSPECIES

Apaloderma narina constantia Scientific name definitions

Systematics History

A. n. constantia Sharpe and Ussher, 1872

Distribution

Southeastern Senegal, southwestern Mali, Guinea, and Sierra Leone east to Nigeria.

Identification Summary

Has yellow bare face patches, greener bill, more white than blackish in wingpanel, which extends further up coverts, purplish uppertail, more white on outer tail than in brachyurum.

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SUBSPECIES

Apaloderma narina brachyurum Scientific name definitions

Systematics History

A. n. brachyurum Chapin, 1923

Distribution

Southern Cameroon east through north Congo Basin to Rift Valley.

Identification Summary

Smaller than nominate (124–137 mm; 6 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ), shorter-tailed (134–162 mm, versus 144–177 mm in nominate; 6 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ), male slightly bluer green, especially on crown and breast, with dull yellowish-green bare face patches, female with grey wash on face and breast.

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SUBSPECIES

Apaloderma narina narina Scientific name definitions

Systematics History

A. n. narina (Stephens, 1815). Includes A. n. rufiventre A. J. C. Dubois, 1897, and A. n. arcanum Clancey, 1959.

Distribution

Highlands of Ethiopia to Angola and South Africa

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SUBSPECIES

Apaloderma narina littorale Scientific name definitions

Systematics History

A. n. littorale van Someren, 1931

Distribution

Southwestern Somalia, eastern Kenya, eastern Tanzania, northern Mozambique, southern Malawi, and Zimbabwe (Mt Selinda).

Identification Summary

Smaller than nominate (wing 121–133 mm, versus 127–144 mm; 6 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ), with greenish orbital ring, bronzy wash above and paler red below

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Generally in mid-stratum of rainforest, gallery forest and savanna woodland. In western Africa, occurs in primary forest, also logged and secondary forest and, more rarely, forestry plantation and wooded savanna, and often along rivers and creeks; in Gabon, separates ecologically from Bare-cheeked Trogon (A. aequatoriale) by occupying more open, broken-canopy woodland, often where primary habitats disturbed by man (e.g. old villages and overgrown plantations), but also storm-struck areas, with highest density in montane forest. In Rwanda (Nyungwe Forest) avoids closed forest, preferring thickets under broken canopy, edges, mixed bamboo-Macaranga forest, and pine plantations. In eastern Africa, occurs mainly in low and mid-level forest and rich woodland, also in some highland forests, and, in northern Somalia, juniper hill woodland, to 2,500 m (7 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ); in Ethiopia, occupies Podocarpus and Hypericum forest at up to 3,400 m (8 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but also arid woodland and thornbush. In south-central and southern Africa, occurs in evergreen and riparian forest, dense scrub and thickets in valleys, forest-woodland mosaic, occasionally Brachystegia and mopane (Colophospermum mopane) woodland, evergreen (very common in Cryptosephalum in Zambia; 9 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ), semi-evergreen and deciduous thicket and transition woodland (moist miombo with some evergreen understory), moist thornveld, coastal bush, valley bushveld (especially Euphorbia), wattle plantations, and well-wooded suburban gardens, at 50–1,670 m (9 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Generally sedentary in western Africa, with pairs remaining virtually all the time within small territory; detectability lower in May-July in Taï National Park, Ivory Coast, but not necessarily ­owing to emigration. In eastern and southern parts of its distribution, some diurnal and nocturnal migration occurs: subspecies littorale could be non-breeding migrant to coastal forest in Kenya, and nominate shows altitudinal migration to lower levels in wet seasons; at least local wandering in Malawi and Zambia, with birds sometimes found considerable distances from suitable habitat at start of rainy season, and occasionally appearing in gardens and exotic plantations outside usual range (2 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ); overlap of subspecies in parts of eastern and southern Africa explained as partial dry-season emigration; in Zimbabwean savanna west from Kariba Basin, may occur only from November-February as breeding summer migrant, possibly coming from Mozambique littoral; in eastern Cape, moves down rivers in search of adequate cover, and in Transvaal there is downslope movement in winter.

Mainly insects, particularly smooth-skinned caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae, Sphingidae, Charaxidae), rarely hairy ones; large green Orthoptera, mantises, cicadas, beetles, bugs, stick-insects, flying termites, adult butterflies and moths; also spiders, and occasionally small terrestrial and arboreal lizards (including chameleons) and frogs. At one nest, stick-insects were main item fed to nestlings; in dry Euphorbia woodland in eastern Cape, cicadas assumed to be a main prey. Prey generally taken in flight, plucked from amidst foliage or from undersurface of branch, with small reptiles being beaten against perch prior to swallowing (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), but has been observed swooping to ground to take a small lizard (6 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Occasionally joins mixed-species flocks.

Vocal Development

Little information. Nestlings hiss when alarmed.

Vocal Array

Advertisement call. A series of some 12-30 hoarse dove-like overslurred hoots, with emphasis on every second hoot and uttered at a stable pace: whu...WHU...whu...WHU...whu...WHU...whu. The emphasized hoots are typically marginally higher in pitch (reaching ⁓600 Hz) and longer in duration (⁓0.18 s), but occasionally difference between both hoot types hardly audible. Pauses between hoots are about equal, but sometimes a slight alternating difference results in paired hoots. Hardly audible at first, hoots become louder for most of the series and end abruptly. The series lasts ⁓7-16 s and is repeated at irregular intervals. The call is ventriloquial and not very loud. With every hoot the throat and breast are inflated and a throat pouch of bare light-blue skin becomes visible, while the bill remains closed, only opening slightly in between hoots, presumably to let escape air of inflated pouch. Furthermore, with every note, the tail goes down to vertical in a jerky movement.

Courtship call. A series of some 10-22 rapidly repeated low-pitched coo notes, that may be repeated incessantly for periods of up to 20 minutes (10 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban (Editors) (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London & San Diego. Close ). Note duration ⁓0.07 s, reaching ⁓600 Hz (note shape on sonogram inverted V) uttered at a pace of ⁓4-5 notes/s.

Purr. A rolling guttural growl kwaurr or purring koorr uttered either singly or in series.

Other. Louder growls or snarls have been noted during aggressive encounters with intruders. Short single coo notes as in Courtship call can be heard as well.

Geographic Variation

Has not been studied in detail. Available recordings suggest a difference in tonal quality, with birds of West Africa having a less hoarse voice. Possibly more differences exist, but this requires further analysis as there is also significant individual variation.

Phenology

Mainly vocalizes during the breeding season, turning almost silent the remainder of the year. In Ghana, mainly vocal during the rainy season (11 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2014). The Birds of Ghana: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press, Liège, Belgium. Close ). In Zambia, Advertisement call noted from August to April (9 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Daily Pattern of Vocalizing

Advertisement call is mainly heard in the morning, and to a lesser extent again in late afternoon.

Places of Vocalizing

Advertisement call usually given from a tree perch 7-20 m above ground but below canopy (12 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Often, calling males move from perch to perch within their territory while calling.

Sex Differences

All vocalizations described above are of male birds. Females are generally silent, only infrequently giving a low, crooning trill, rendered trrrroom (6 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ).

Social Content and Presumed Functions of Vocalizations

Male utters Advertisement call to defend territory, and males of adjacent territories may countersing. Courtship call evidently given by male during courtship. Similar short coo notes are also used by male when relieving female at nest (12 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Purr calls are used by males in aggressive encounters against other males or other intruders.

Bill snapping has been observed in fledglings when threatened.

Feeding young noted in April in Ivory Coast; possibly nests throughout year in Gabon (young seen in August, November, and March) and Zaire (breeding females taken January, April, and September); January (8 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), March-June in Ethiopia; November in Uganda; in Kenya, all months except January, July, and September, with a peak April-June (in and just after long rains), some breeding also if short rains good; December in Angola, perhaps January in Malawi (2 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2006). The Birds of Malawi: An Atlas and Handbook. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ), December-January in Zimbabwe, and October-January in Mozambique and South Africa. Monogamous, with strong pair-bond; territorial throughout year, territory 1-2 ha, defended by male, with home-range of up to 10 ha (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Nest in rotted hole or other natural cavity in living or dead tree or stump, with small entrance (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), 1-12 m up in vertical limb; cavity may be used in successive years. Eggs, 1-4 in South Africa, 2-3 in Kenya and Zambia (9 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ), are glossy white, 25.9-31 mm × 21.2-23·5 mm (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); incubation 16-17 days in South Africa, by both sexes (male between 10:00 hours and 17:00 hours, female for rest of time; 3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), but 18 and 21 days reported in Kenya; nestling (has black down after ca. 1 week, replaced by first feathers at ca. 10 days; 3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) period ca. 25-28 days (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), and nestlings are fed by both adults (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), who feed fledged young until fully grown at ca. 60 days, and family remains together for several months in total (3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Breeding success not well known, but predation meant only four young fledged from eight nests in Kenya, mostly by Accipiter spp. (A. tachiro, A. minullus, and A. ovampensis), but also by African Wood-owl (Strix woodfordi) and perhaps by tree squirrel Paraxerus ochraceus, with one nest destroyed by safari ants (Dorylus sp.; 3 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Study in Kibale National Park, Uganda found species at similar densities in unlogged, lightly logged, and heavily logged forest patches, while density in plantation forest was higher than for many other non-passerines (13 Sekercioglu, C. H. (2002). Effects of forestry practices on vegetation structure and bird community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Biological Conservation 107(2):229–240. Close ), while, similarly, in Cape Province, South Africa, surveys of woodland heavily exploited for fuelwood versus more pristine areas found trogons breeding in both sites (14 du Plessis, M.A. (1995). The effects of fuelwood removal on the diversity of some cavity-using birds and mammals in South Africa. Biological Conservation. 74(2): 77-82. Close ). Generally uncommon but very widespread, in most forested parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In western part of distribution, widespread but locally very patchy, e.g. in Ivory Coast very rare in Yapo Forest, yet one of most commonly recorded species in Taï National Park; uncommon in Nigeria, and range only recently extended to southeastern Senegal (15 Aransay, N., Pacheco, L. and Zabala, I. (2012). First records of Narina’s Trogon Apaloderma narina for Senegal. Bull. African Bird Club. 19(1): 61-62. Close ) and southeastern Mali (16 Dowsett, R. J., and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2005). Additions to the avifauna of Mali. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 12(2):119–124. Close ); common in Gabon, where on one mountain density may be one pair/10 ha. Present in Bamingui-Bangoran National Park and the Dzanga Reserves, Central African Republic; in Kouilou Basin, Congo, common only on higher hills of the central Mayombe; common in lowland and temperate forest in eastern Zaire, present in e.g. Upemba National Park. Found in eight national parks in Uganda. In Ethiopia, uncommon to common in various habitats, but rare in Eritrea (8 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); in Somalia, rare in northwest but locally fairly common in southeast. Widespread but uncommon in eastern Africa, but densities of five pairs/8 ha of forest (Nairobi, Kenya), and fairly common in Arusha and Lake Manyara National Parks in Tanzania; scarce in Serengeti National Park. Common in Malawi, and locally abundant in Zambia. Tiny population in riverine forest in northern Botswana and Caprivi Strip at risk from impact of elephants and humans on riparian habitat. Locally common in Transvaal.