The Trogons are the only family of birds included in the Trogoniformes order, with 39 species recognised globally throughout the tropics, but with the highest diversity found here in the Americas. Trogons are unique in the animal kingdom for the way their feet are arranged, with digits facing both forward and backward to help with their favourite pastime – perching.
Trogons use their perches as vantage points to find fruit and insects in the forest canopy and sub-canopy. They build their nests in tree holes or termite mounds which they excavate with their beaks. The Gartered Trogon is even known to hollow out wasp nests for a breeding site, after removing and eating all the wasps.
11 of the 39 birds in the Trogon family have been recorded in Panama, with the 5 species regularly recorded on Pipeline Road pictured below.
