Orange-breasted trogon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Orange-breasted trogon |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Trogoniformes |
| Family: | Trogonidae |
| Genus: | Harpactes |
| Species: |
H. oreskios
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| Binomial name | |
| Harpactes oreskios (Temminck, 1823)
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| Synonyms | |
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The orange-breasted trogon (scientific name: Harpactes oreskios) is a beautiful, colorful bird. It belongs to the Trogonidae family. These birds live in the lower parts of forests. You can find them in places like southern China, southeast Asia, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java.
Orange-breasted trogons love to eat insects. They hunt by waiting on a branch and then flying out to catch their prey. Adult birds usually build their nests between January and May. They dig out a shallow hole in dead tree stumps. Both parent birds work together to raise their young chicks.
Contents
About the Orange-breasted Trogon
The orange-breasted trogon is part of a bird group called Trogoniformes. This group includes the Trogonidae family, which has about 39 types of tropical birds. The Harpactes group includes all the Asian trogons. The orange-breasted trogon is closely related to the Philippine trogon (Harpactes ardens) and Diard's trogon (Harpactes diardii).
Scientists recognize five different types, or subspecies, of the orange-breasted trogon:
- H. o. oreskios (the main type)
- H. o. stellae
- H. o. uniformis
- H. o. nias
- H. o. dulitensis
What Does It Look Like?
The orange-breasted trogon is a medium-sized bird. It is about 25 to 31 centimeters (10 to 12 inches) long. It weighs around 49 to 57 grams (1.7 to 2 ounces).
Male birds have a dull olive-yellow head. Their upper body and the top of their tail are a reddish-brown color. The underside of their tail is black and white. Their main wing feathers are black with white stripes. Their wing covers also have black stripes. The lower part of their chest is yellow-orange, which gets lighter towards their belly. They also have a blue ring around their eyes.
Female birds look a bit different. They have a more grey-brown head and upper body. Their chest is grey, and their belly and vent are yellow. Both male and female trogons have grey feet. They have two toes pointing backward, which is common for trogons.
The different subspecies can have small differences. For example, uniformis and dulitensis are smaller. Uniformis has a more yellow chest, while dulitensis has a greener one. Nias has a darker head and a bigger beak. Stellae has a lighter chest and a longer tail.
Where Do They Live?
The different types of orange-breasted trogons live in various places. You can find them in southern China, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Nias, and Laos.
- H. o. stellae lives from southern China and Myanmar to Indochina.
- H. o. uniformis is found from southern Thailand and Malaysia to Sumatra.
- H. o. nias lives on the island of Nias.
- H. o. dulitensis lives on Borneo.
- H. o. oreskios lives on Java.
These birds do not migrate, meaning they stay in the same area all year. They prefer forests that are moist and warm. This includes lowland forests, mountain forests, and even swampy areas. Sometimes, they can be found in thin jungles or groups of trees near forests. They usually live at lower to middle elevations in these areas.
Life and Habits
What Do They Sound Like?
The orange-breasted trogon's song usually starts with one to three notes like “to (to to)”. Then it follows with three or four even-pitched “tau-tau-tau” sounds. Some subspecies might have slightly different songs. For example, the male H. o. stellae sings a five-note kek tau-tau-tau-tau-tau with a harsh kek-kek sound.
What Do They Eat?
Orange-breasted trogons are insectivores, which means they eat insects. When they hunt for food, they use a special technique called “sally-stall.” They will sit on a branch and watch for prey. Then, they fly quickly towards it, stop in the air for a moment by fluttering their wings, and grab the insect.
They usually hunt from a height of about 4 to 14 meters (14 to 45 feet) above the ground. They often hunt around 9.5 meters (31 feet) high. Their diet includes many different bugs, such as stick insects, grasshoppers, and butterfly or moth larvae.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The breeding season for orange-breasted trogons varies a bit between subspecies. On average, it lasts for two to three months, usually between January and May. Both the male and female work together to build the nest. They dig a shallow hole in the side or on top of a rotten tree stump or a dead branch. While one bird digs, the other waits nearby.
The female usually lays two or three eggs. Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. Males often incubate during the day, and females take over at night. The eggs hatch after about 17 to 18 days. The eggs are smooth, oval-shaped, and look like a dirty ivory or pale olive color with no markings.
The young birds stay in the nest for about 12 to 14 days. The male bird often brings more food to the nestlings than the female. Sometimes, the male will give the food to the female first, and then she feeds it to the chicks.
These birds breed before their main food sources are most plentiful. This might be because they want to avoid competing for food with larger birds, like the red-headed trogon, which breeds later.
How Are They Doing?
The orange-breasted trogon is listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN. This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing. However, their numbers are slowly decreasing. Most of these birds live in protected areas, which helps keep them safe. More research is needed to understand why their population is declining.
Images for kids
 | Delilah Pierce |
 | Gordon Parks |
 | Augusta Savage |
 | Charles Ethan Porter |
