Image by JANDRÉ PETRUS VERSTER, text by FAYE KNIGHT
Every year Birdlife South Africa releases a calendar that showcases fantastic photography of some fan favourite birds. The photographs featured in this year’s calendar were entered into the Birdlife South Africa Photography Competition in 2025 which helped raise awareness and funds for conservation efforts and provided a chance to highlight the talent of our members and contestants.
This month features the elusive and mysterious Narina Trogon, photographed by Jandré Petrus Verster. This striking bird is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is one of the most sought-after birds in the birding community.
One could ask, “what is so interesting about this bird?” Well, considering this species is known for being shy and one that usually flies at the first sign of movement or danger, turning its green back to you and blending in with its environment, this little bird carries quite a few interesting facts.
- Named by French ornithologist, François Le Vaillant, the species is thought to be named after his mistress who was believed to be a native woman to the Cape Province during his expedition between 1781 and 1784.
- Birders have observed that this species is a “perch-and-wait” hunter who typically perches in dense foliage high in the trees canopies, swooping to capture prey.
- Narina Trogons are large forest leaf-gleaners who primarily feed on invertebrates and to a lesser extent on small vertebrates.
- When perched, the Narina Trogon uses a heterodactyl toe arrangement (two toes face forward and two toes face backward on each foot) and is the only species to do so.
- During breeding season, which is usually the summer months, the Trogan’s bare throat patch can be seen when calling and presents as a turquoise blue. However, during the non-breeding seasons it is usually a yellow-lime colour, and when not calling is covered by feathers.
- This species forms monogamous pairs and breed in the hollows of trees.
- The call is a grating, low repeated hoot, given by males only, in defending territory or attracting mates. During the breeding seasons, the male is fiercely territorial, driving away other bird species.
- When feeling threatened, a foul-smelling liquid is secreted from the preen gland at the base of the tail, however the impact this secretion holds has not been fully measured due to it being a hard species to spot.
This beautiful species is considered a bucket list sighting for the birding community and based on the few facts above, one can understand why. A very big congratulations to Jandré Petrus Verster for this fantastic photograph of the very secretive Narina Trogan!
Be sure to keep a look for next month’s bird, the Malachite Sunbird!
