Diard's trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Region
Sundaland, Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs in the lowland evergreen rainforests of Brunei, Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular and Bornean), Singapore, and southern Thailand. Strongly tied to primary dipterocarp forest and peat-swamp forest, occasionally using well-structured secondary forest. Typically keeps to shaded midstory and lower canopy along forest streams and quieter interior tracts. It is scarce or absent in heavily degraded or fragmented habitats.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Named after the French naturalist Pierre-Médard Diard, Diard's trogon is a quiet, forest-interior bird that often sits motionless for long periods, making it easy to overlook. It prefers intact lowland rainforest and is highly sensitive to logging and forest fragmentation. Its soft, mournful calls are often heard before the bird is seen.
Temperament
quiet and unobtrusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between perches
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, occasionally accompanying mixed-species flocks in the midstory. Nests in a self-excavated cavity in rotting stumps or soft wood, typically 2–3 eggs. Both sexes share incubation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a soft, mournful series of hoo notes repeated at measured intervals. Also utters low resonant coos and gentle churring calls from shaded perches.
Plumage
Male has a velvety black head and chest, chestnut-brown upperparts, and deep crimson underparts with boldly barred black-and-white tail underside; female is warm brown above with pinkish-salmon underparts and less contrasting head and chest.
Diet
Feeds mainly on large insects such as stick-insects, beetles, katydids, and cicadas, supplemented by small fruits and figs. Forages by sally-gleaning from a perch, snatching prey from foliage or in short aerial sallies. Will occasionally hover briefly to pick items from leaves and twigs.
Preferred Environment
Midstory of primary lowland rainforest, especially along quiet streams and in well-shaded interior. Sometimes forages at forest edges and in lightly logged stands if canopy structure remains intact.
