Trogons (Trogonidae) - HBW 6

Elegant Trogon (Trogon elegans)

French: Trogon élégant German: Kupfertrogon Spanish: Trogón Elegante
Other common names: Coppery-tailed Trogon (“ambiguus group”)

Taxonomy: Trogon elegans Gould, 1834, Guatemala.
Possibly most closely related to T. mexicanus, T. collaris, T. personatus, T. rufus and T. curucui; DNA studies suggest that middle three of these may be closest to present species. Races generally regarded as falling into two groups, “ambiguus group” N of Isthmus of Tehuantepec and “elegans group” S of there, these sometimes regarded as representing two separate species. Birds in El Salvador and Honduras intermediate between elegans and lubricus. Populations in S Arizona and NW Mexico (excluding Tres Marias Is) sometimes .. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Trogon elegans Gould,1834. Guatemala.
Possibly most closely related to T. mexicanus, T. collaris, T. personatus, T. rufus and T. curucui; DNA studies suggest that middle three of these may be closest to present species. Races generally regarded as falling into two groups, “ambiguus group” N of Isthmus of Tehuantepec and “elegans group” S of there, these sometimes regarded as representing two separate species. Birds in El Salvador and Honduras intermediate between elegans and lubricus. Populations in S Arizona and NW Mexico (excluding Tres Marias Is) sometimes separated as race canescens. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

goldmani , 1898 - S Arizona, and NW Mexico (including Tres Marias Is).
ambiguus Gould, 1835 - E & SC Mexico.
elegans Gould, 1834 - Guatemala (Motagua Valley), extending into El Salvador and Honduras.
lubricus J. L. Peters, 1945 - Nicaragua and NW Costa Rica.