The cinnamon-rumped trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae or Trogons which are some of the most colourful birds on Earth especially the quetzals found in the Neotropics. There is very little known about this family of birds as a whole and even less information on the cinnamon-rumped trogon.
Region
Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Found in the Sundaland region, including the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo, mostly in primary and mature secondary evergreen rainforest. Prefers lowland and hill dipterocarp forests and shaded stream ravines with dense midstory. Occasionally uses peat-swamp and heath forest where suitable structure remains. Generally avoids heavily logged, fragmented, or open forests. Often occupies quiet interior forest rather than edges.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Cinnamon-rumped trogons are secretive forest birds that often sit motionless in the midstory, relying on their camouflage to avoid detection. Like other trogons, they have heterodactyl feet (two toes forward, two back) and nest in cavities they excavate in rotting wood or termite nests. They typically occur as quiet pairs and may duet with soft, carrying calls. Ongoing lowland forest loss in Sundaland makes them sensitive to habitat disturbance.
Illustration
Temperament
solitary and shy
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between perches
Social Behavior
Usually seen alone or in pairs within dense forest interiors. Pairs maintain small territories and may duet softly. Nests are shallow cavities excavated in rotten trunks or stumps; both sexes participate in excavation, incubation, and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Voice is a soft, mournful series of hoots or whistles that carry through the forest, often sounding ventriloquial. Pairs may exchange evenly spaced notes, with long pauses between phrases.
Plumage
Male with dark head, chestnut-brown back, and a distinctly warm cinnamon rump; underparts rich crimson with a narrow pale breast band; tail shows bold black-and-white barring below. Female is overall warm brown with a cinnamon rump and duller buffy underparts, lacking the male’s bright red belly.
Diet
Takes a variety of arthropods such as beetles, cicadas, mantises, and caterpillars, supplemented by small fruits and figs. Hunts by sallying from a shaded perch to snatch prey in flight or by gleaning from foliage. May occasionally take small vertebrates. Swallows larger insects whole after beating them against a perch.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in the lower to mid canopy of intact rainforest, especially along shaded streams and quiet gullies. Often selects dense perches with good vantage points for short sallies.
