The Beautiful Maroon Bird Of Southeast Asia — Ward’s Trogon

The Ward’s trogon (Harpactes wardi) belongs to the family of trogons and quetzals, Trogonidae in the order Trogoniformes.

These species of trogons are distributed in Northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, Northeast Myanmar, China (West Yunnan province) and Vietnam (Tonkin region). The Ward’s trogon is a sparsely distributed species and it has a moderately small population which is under steady decline. All over its range, this trogon species is becoming uncommon and rare due to habitat loss and degradation.

The Ward’s Trogon is classified as Near Threatened (NT), is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

A sluggish bird of mature tropical hill forests. A small head and prominent pale eye-ring give it a comically surprised appearance. Male has a wine-purple back, a scarlet belly, and a red plush patch on the forehead. Female is brownish with a yellow cap and underparts. Like other trogons, usually still and hard to detect on a low or mid-level perch, from which it sallies out to take insects, fruits, and seeds. Song is a series of bubbling hoots that accelerate and rise, then taper off gradually towards the end.