Green-backed Trogon

Green-backed Trogon, scientifically known as Trogon viridis, literally means Green Trogon, which has only green on its back that gives off a certain light! Anglo-Saxons call it Green-backed Trogon but it is more commonly referred to as White-tailed Trogon, as taxonomy is a changing science, the ssp chionorus is sometimes classified as its own species and is also labeled as a White-tailed Trogon! In fact, scientists think that Trogon viridis forms a superspecies with Baird's Trogon, Citrine Trogon and Black-headed Trogon, leaving it to the scientists to sort out the species and subspecies. Trogon viridis has a classic trogon size, being 25-28 cm long, with a very distinct dimorphism, with the male having a pale blue beak surrounded by black bristles, parotids black and surrounding the orbital circle also light blue, iris dark brown to black. Throat is black, as well as the center of the chest, the outer sides of which are a very dark cobalt blue in contrast to the orange-yellow underside. The nape, mantle and back are emerald green with strong violet-blue highlights, depending on the light, the bird will thus appear green, blue or violet! The scapulars take on the emerald green color of the back, with the coverts being very finely and scarcely vermiculated with white horizontal waves not visible from afar, with the black remiges showing white margins. Base of tail is black, forming a point with the tip directed downwards, while the three pairs of rectrices are white, with a black diamond-shaped mark in the middle, and having a black boundary same as the tip of the tail. The female has a gray head, with the beak having a pale blue upper mandible and the lower mandible being light gray, and with the eye being the same as the males: light blue orbital circle; this feature will be a distinguishing element to differentiate the female Trogon viridis from the one of its neighbors - Trogon violaceus, who has white half orbital circles.The chest is light grey, the belly is yellow, the nape, mantle, back and scapulars are grey, the anthracite coverts vermiculated with fine white lines give an elegance to Mrs. Viridis. The remiges are identical to those of Mr., the tail differs, if the base remains black, the first pair of lower rectrices is horizontally striped with black and white to end in two large white spots, the stripes become less wide on the second pair to almost disappear on the third pair, the second and third pairs of rectrices being separated by a large black square, the end of the tail is barred with a black line. Juveniles adopt their mother's costume, young males start to have green-bronze reflections on the back and upper rectrices, the covers are speckled with diffuse points of creamy color, the tail is whiter on the lower rectrices. Two subspecies are recognized, ssp viridis described previously and ssp chionorus also called Panama trogon and sometimes classified as a separate species, with the back and upper rectrices predominantly more blue, even purple and especially the lower rectrices totally white except the end of the tail which is black. The female chionorus differs from her cousin viridis by the base of the tail which is striped black and white while viridis is completely black, the rest of the lower rectrices being white.