Cuban Trogon: World’s Most Fascinating Bird

The beauty of our motherland is quite astounding, especially when I witness colorful birds. I have always believed that nature is full of stunning hues. The Cuban trogon (Priotelus temnurus) is one of the most beautiful species of bird, belonging to the family Trogonidae. It is also called Tocoror and is endemic to the Caribbean island of Cuba. It is Cuba’s national bird. Its habitats are dry forests, moist forests, and heavily degraded former forests.

In Spanish, it is called Tocororo or Tocoloro. The name is actually derived from its repeated call, toco-toco-tocoro-tocoro. Its scientific name is Priotelus temnurus, which is very rarely used in referring to this bird. The Cuban trogon has a greenback, a blue crown, a red belly and beak, and a white throat and chest. Interestingly, these colors mimic the colors of the Cuban flag, and that’s why it is selected to be the national bird of Cuba. This bird has a long, fluffy tail, truly unique amongst trogons. Typically, the wing coverts and flight feathers have a complicated pattern of white spots and range in color from dark metallic green to black.

The bird is between 10 and 11 inches from beak to tail and weighs 47 to 75 grams. When these birds travel, they prefer to fly in pairs, creating a heavy noise because of their rough, graceless flying technique. This is a very common bird and can be seen all over the island of Cuba. The islands of Sabinal, Guajaba, Romano, and Isle of Youth are the only locations where seeing the bird is uncommon. The Cuban trogon is primarily sedentary but makes seasonal movements in elevation or in reaction to food availability. The Cuban trogon flight technique is fairly choppy and noisy.

This bird prefers wet and dry forests of all altitudes and likes to be in the shade as opposed to the sun. The Cuban trogon nests in already-created crevices in trees, primarily abandoned woodpecker holes. The breeding mostly occurs from April to July. The bird usually lays 3–4 eggs in a clutch; the incubation period is 17–18 days, and the fledging happens three weeks after hatching.

The Cuban trogon song is described as sweet toco-toco-tocoro-tocoro, repeated for longer periods at frequent intervals,” along with “a low and short melancholy call that makes it difficult to detect” and “a constant, quick series of staccato notes.”

The Cuban trogon feeds on flowers, fruits, buds, and insects; it also sallys from a perch or hovers at foliage or fruit. Unlike most birds, it is proficient at hovering while eating. The birds are difficult to domesticate and frequently die in cages. The two subspecies likewise barely differ from one another. The subspecies Ponda t. temnurus and P. t. vescus, which are members of the same genus as the Hispaniolan trogon (P. roseigaster),.

As far as status is concerned, the Cuban trogon has a wide range, however, it is classified as least concerning on the list of IUCN because it is thought that its population is declining.

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