The masked trogon (Trogon personatus) is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae, the trogons. Fairly common in humid highland forests in South America, mainly in the Andes and on tepuis, it is resident in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. It is a mid-sized trogon, averaging 27 centimetres (11 in) in length and 56 grams (2.0 oz) in mass. Like all members of its family, it displays sexual dimorphism. The male has upperparts, head and upper chest of variously green or reddish-bronze colouring, with a red belly and lower breast, while the female is brown above, with a pinkish to red belly and breast. Like all trogons, it feeds on both fruits and insects. It makes its nest by excavating into the soft wood of a rotting vertical tree trunk. This masked trogon of the subspecies T. p. temperatus (the highland trogon) was photographed at San Isidro Lodge near Cosanga in Napo Province, Ecuador.
Photographer: Charles J. Sharp
