Trogon melanurus
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The black-tailed trogon (Trogon melanurus) is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae, the quetzals and trogons. It is found Panama and northern South America. The Clements taxonomy adds a fourth subspecies, T. m. occidentalis. What is now the Ecuadorian trogon (T. mesurus) was until the early 2000s considered another subspecies. A subspecies of slaty-tailed trogon (T. massena australis) is sometimes treated as a subspecies of black-tailed trogon, and T. m. macroura has been suggested as a separate species.
The black-tailed trogon is 28 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) long and weighs 52 to 122 g (1.8 to 4.3 oz). The male of the nominate subspecies has a yellow bill and a blackish face and throat with an orange-red ring around the eye. The crown, nape, upperparts, and breast are green. A white band separates the breast from the red belly and vent. The upperside of the tail is deep blue and the underside is slaty gray. The folded wing has fine vermiculation that looks gray... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 7 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 8 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | San Lorenzo Protected Forest | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 12 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black-tailed Trogon sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 2,937 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 84th most-seen of the 449 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–May and July–September
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black-tailed Trogon in Soberanía National Park on a given day, against about 20% in June and October–December, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-tailed Trogon sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Black-tailed Trogon sightings, Soberanía National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Manu National Park (Peru, about 30%) and Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, about 30%).
Same genus: Trogon
The closest relatives of the Black-tailed Trogon that you can see in Soberanía National Park (genus Trogon, New World Trogons) are Slaty-tailed Trogon (about 50%), Gartered Trogon (about 30%) and Black-throated Trogon (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-tailed Trogon is recorded against all the birds logged in Soberanía National Park (2,937 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
