It nests inside active termite mounds and wasp nests: it digs a chamber into the structure, and the termites or wasps seal the wound around it without attacking it, giving the chicks a stable temperature and protection from predators.
From Collared Trogon
Its stillness is its defence: it can stay motionless for several minutes turning only its head, and its iridescent green makes it practically invisible among the foliage.
From Collared Trogon
Its skin is so thin and so loosely attached that it tears at the slightest contact, a classic problem for taxidermists and perhaps a defence against predators.
From Collared Trogon
Its name honours a Khoikhoi woman: the naturalist François Levaillant, who travelled through South Africa in the eighteenth century, dedicated the species to his companion, whom he called Narina, and it is one of the few bird names in the world that honours an African person.
From Narina Trogon
Like all trogons it has an arrangement of toes unique among birds, with the first and second toes pointing backwards, shared by no other group.
From Narina Trogon
Its stillness is its camouflage: it stays motionless with its back to the observer, and the iridescent green of its back merges it with the foliage even though the crimson breast is visible from the other side.
From Narina Trogon
Trogons have an arrangement of toes unique among birds, called heterodactyl: the first and second toes point backwards, a combination shared by no other group of birds in the world.
From Mountain Trogon
Its skin is so thin and so loosely attached that it tears extraordinarily easily, a classic problem for taxidermists and a possible defence against predators that end up with nothing but a handful of feathers.
From Mountain Trogon

Ecosystems

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