Malabar Trogon Harpactes fasciatus Scientific name definitions

29–30 cm; 62–64 g. Similar to allopatric H. kasumba, but lacks red nape of latter species and has broader white breastline, while female has more visible black on undertail (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Male of nominate race has bill and orbital ring blue with rich blue bar of bare skin running under eye from upper mandible; head to mid-breast greyish black with white breastline, mid-breast to undertail-coverts pinkish red ; upperparts yellowish brown, wingpanel narrowly barred whitish, uppertail rufous-brown with blackish terminal band. Female has dull brown head and breast, vague buff breastline and tawny-yellow mid-breast to undertail-coverts, wingpanel barred buff. Juvenile male like female, but has greyish head and breast. Race <em>malabaricus</em> slightly larger (wing 122–142 versus 117–126 mm in nominate) (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ) and longer-tailed (141–184 mm versus 137–152 mm in nominate) (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ), and male has head and breast sooty-black.

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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.

Middle storey of dense primary and secondary broadleaf evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest , preferably with abundance of bamboo, in tropical and subtropical zones at up to 1500 m, locally to 2000 m in Nilgiris (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ); recorded also in plantations (e.g. mahogany) in Kerala. Reaches 2200 m in Sri Lanka (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ), where appears to favour the intermediate belt of country between the wet and dry zones, and has occasionally been recorded in plantations (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ).

Chiefly resident, although in W India considered a local cold-season immigrant (Nov–Mar) around Bombay.

Caterpillars, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, bugs, stick-insects and other insects; also leaves and berries. Crepuscular, hunting well after sunset. Insects are usually caught in flight and crushed in bill before being swallowed whole (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Often trails mixed-species flocks; up to four individuals recorded in such flocks, but mean 1·9 birds in Sri Lankan study (2 Kotagama, S. W., and E. Goodale (2004). The composition and spatial organisation of mixed-species flocks in a Sri Lankan rainforest. Forktail 2138:63–7138. Close ).

A throaty, musical “cue-cue-cue-...”, like an oriole (Oriolus), with slight differences in songs of the two subspecies: male malabaricus utters a deliberate series of mellow, slightly guttural and percussive “kyaau” notes, initially deeply downslurred but then levelling out, while the song of male fasciatus is shorter and comprises clearer, thinner and more obviously downslurred “tyu” notes (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Low rolling “krr-r-r-r” when alarmed, usually given by female, is a soft, sputtering, downslurred purr (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Despite frequent presence in mixed-species foraging flocks, in both wet and dry seasons in Sri Lanka (2 Kotagama, S. W., and E. Goodale (2004). The composition and spatial organisation of mixed-species flocks in a Sri Lankan rainforest. Forktail 2138:63–7138. Close ), rarely if ever seems to give alarm calls in response to perceived danger in such situations (3 Goodale, E. and Kotagama, S.W. (2005). Alarm calling in Sri Lanka mixed-species bird flocks. Auk 122(1): 108–120. Close ).

Feb–Jun in peninsular India, or Mar–May in Sri Lanka (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Nest an unlined natural hollow (but sometimes partially excavated by the birds) (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ) in or on top of a broken stump, usually less than 6 m from ground, in deep forest. Eggs 2–4, white and glossy, size 24·2–28 mm × 22·2–25 mm (malabaricus) or 25·3–26·3 mm × 23·5–25·3 mm (fasciatus) (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ); incubation is shared by the sexes, but no information on period (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). No other information.

Not globally threatened. Locally frequent in India, though generally uncommon and has probably declined in Gujarat, where known from Purna Wildlife Sanctuary and Vansda National Park (4 Trivedi, P. and Soni, V.C. (2006). Significant bird records and local extinctions in Purna and Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuaries, Gujarat, India. Forktail. 22: 39–48. Close ); widespread throughout Western Ghats, but substantial declines and/or local extinctions noted in forest fragments of < 10 ha (5 Raman, T.R.S. (2002). Effects of fragmentation and plantations on tropical rainforest birds in the southern Western Ghats, India. Bull. Oriental Bird Club. 36: 31-32. Close ); apparently common and widespread in Kerala, where an important population is protected within Thattakad Bird Sanctuary (1 Forshaw, J.M. (2009). Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). Frequent in Sri Lanka in humid forest, infrequent in dry and hill country; Sinharaja Forest Man and Biosphere Reserve is a major stronghold.