Therefore, the bird of the month should be the pajaro bandera, or the flag bird. Don't mistake the flag bird with the eagle seen on the Mexican flag. This is a smaller, but equally handsome, 12-inch bird naturally adorned with the colors of the Mexican flag: green on its head, then a band of white separating it from the red on its chest. It is endemic to Mexico and northern Central America. This striking bird can be located in the highlands area where pine trees or oaks are present and although widely present in Jalisco, it is not to be found in downtown Ajijic or Chapala. One would have to make the effort to hike some mountainous trails and sit quietly listening for a while to catch a glimpse of it. But its image is prolific in Mexico. It has been featured on postage stamps, on posters that warn against fires in the Sierra de Manantlán, and in Mexican advertising.
Foreign birders know it by its American Ornithological designation, the mountain trogon, but it's often called the Mexican trogon too. It is a member of a family of brightly-colored forest birds, which although vivid in appearance, are more often heard than seen as they often sit motionless in trees, either singly or in pairs. After perching completely still, trogons will suddenly fly forth to catch an unsuspecting insect. Occasionally it is possible to see a small group together feasting on fruiting trees. Their calls are distinctive - they make a series of paired whistles, usually three pairs at a time, and they also make what is described as a bouncing ball series of notes. For readers who are computer savvy, it is possible to go to a number of web sites and hear the call of the mountain trogan: www.junglewalk.com/sound/Non-passerines-sounds.asp
Their range is extensive in Mexico, as they reside in the higher elevations along mountainous slopes beginning in northern Chihuahua. and extending southward to El Salvador and Honduras. Mexico is home to eight other members of the trogon family, each splendid in appearance, and they include the citreoline trogon, the elegant trogon. the violaceous trogon and, one of my most sought after birds, the resplendant quetzal, a more fantastic looking member of the trogon family, with its long feathery tail in sharp contrast to the normally squared off tail of the other trogons. Trogons are not found in the U.S. or Canada, except for two species one could encounter in southern Arizona.
The taxonomy of trogons is interesting as they are the sole family in the order trogoniformes and have no close relatives with other birds. But a characteristic shared by other trogons is not found in any other birds of the world. They have odd feet; their innermost front toe points backwards, unlike the basic arrangement where the outermost toes rotate backward. Trogons are noted for having short legs and weak feet, thus their ability to walk and climb is limited. Perhaps this accounts for their long periods of sitting silently rather than hopping about as other birds might do in search of food.
The primary threat to trogons is the extinction of forests and woods where they make their homes. They typically nest in tree cavities, usually an abandoned woodpecker hole.
So be patriotic this month, celebrate the beauty and wildness of Mexico. Get out into nature, take a drive to a mountainous area, and go into the forest, walk around, and listen. The Mexican trogon, the pajaro bandera, will be calling and you can give a salute to an emblematic bird of a great country with natural resources that are as yet completely undiscovered.
