Appearance
This species is 28–30 centimetres long and weighs 60–78 grams ). Like other trogons, elegant trogons have distinctive male and female plumages, with soft feathers. Both sexes have a white undertail with fine horizontal black barring. The undertail also has large white tips spaced evenly ending in a black terminal band. Both have a yellow bill, orange-red undertail coverts and lower belly, and a white horizontal breast stripe.The male elegant trogon has a metallic deep green head, upper breast and back, black face and throat, and red-orange lower breast and belly. He shows grey upperwing coverts. The female has a metallic bronze head, upper breast, back, upper tail and upperwing coverts. She shows a dull white upper belly, and a small white vertical stripe behind the eye.
The usual call is a croaking "co-ah co-ah co-ah". The trogon will also include some chattering notes.
Naming
"T. elegans" has five recognized subspecies, including the nominate subspecies:⤷ "T. e. ambiguus" Gould, 1835
⤷ "T. e. canescens" Van Rossem, 1934
⤷ "T. e. elegans" Gould, 1834
⤷ "T. e. goldmani" Nelson, 1898
⤷ "T. e. lubricus" J. L. Peters, 1945
Distribution
The most northerly populations of subspecies "ambiguus" are partially migratory, and the species is occasionally found as a vagrant in southeasternmost and western Texas.Reproduction
It is a resident of the lower levels of semi-arid open woodlands and forests. It nests 2–6 metres high in an unlined shallow cavity, usually selecting an old woodpecker hole, with a typical clutch of 2–3 eggs.Food
Elegant trogons feed on insects and fruit, often taken in flight. Their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits. Although their flight is fast, they are reluctant to fly any distance. They typically perch upright and motionless.References:
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