Apaloderma narina
Silhouette: Keith Murdock (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Narina trogon (Apaloderma narina) is a largely green and red, medium-sized (32–34 cm long) bird in the family Trogonidae. It is native to forests and woodlands of the Afrotropics. Though it is the most widespread and diverse in habitat choice of the three Apaloderma species, its numbers are locally depleted due to deforestation. Some populations are sedentary while others undertake regular movements.
It is sexually dimorphic, with males more brightly coloured. Both sexes have vivid, gingery green upperpart plumage. The tail feathers have a metallic blue-green gloss. The outer three rectices on each side are tipped and fringed white, giving the undertail of perched birds a characteristic white appearance (compare bar-tailed trogon). The wing coverts are a grizzled grey, and remiges mostly colourless grey.
The male especially, has bright red underside plumage and bare, green gape and eye flanges. The female has brown face and chest plumage, blue skin orbiting the eyes and duller red plumage below. Immature birds resemble females but have distinct white tips to the tertials (inner wing), and less distinct gape and eye flanges.
The name is derived from the Khoi word... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
No species of the same family or order lives in uMkhuze Game Reserve, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Narina Trogon sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 170th most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Narina Trogon in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February and June, the lowest months. That is one of uMkhuze Game Reserve's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 120 mm in February.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Narina 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.
6th of 26
Of the 26 parks where we can rate Narina Trogon sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 20%), iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 20%) and Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Narina Trogon is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (49 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.
