About Apaloderma narina (Stephens, 1815)
This bird species, Apaloderma narina, is sexually dimorphic, and males have brighter colouring than females. Both sexes have vivid, gingery green plumage on their upperparts. Their tail feathers have a metallic blue-green gloss. The outer three tail feathers (rectrices) on each side are tipped and fringed with white, which gives the undertail of perched birds a characteristic white appearance, unlike the bar-tailed trogon. The wing coverts are grizzled grey, and most flight feathers (remiges) are colourless grey. Males in particular have bright amaranth red plumage on their underparts, along with bare green gape and eye flanges. Females have brown plumage on their face and chest, blue skin circling the eyes, and duller red plumage on the underparts. Immature birds look similar to females, but have distinct white tips on their inner wing tertials, and less distinct gape and eye flanges. The species name comes from the Khoi word for flower, which was recorded by Francois Levaillant in his description of the bird; Levaillant also used the name Narina for his Gonaqua mistress. This species has a large range across Africa. It inhabits lowland to highland valley and riparian forests, across tropical to temperate regions. Populations living in highlands disperse seasonally to lower elevations. Its distribution extends from Sierra Leone to Ethiopia, and from East Africa to eastern and southern South Africa. Because of its wide range and broad habitat tolerance, the Narina trogon is classified as a species of least conservation concern.
