Trogon rufus, RUFUS GMELIN, 1788

Dickens, Jeremy Kenneth, Bitton, Pierre-Paul, Bravo, Gustavo A. & Silveira, Luís Fábio, 2021, Species limits, patterns of secondary contact and a new species in the Trogon rufus complex (Aves: Trogonidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 193, pp. 499-540 : 511-519

TROGON RUFUS RUFUS GMELIN, 1788

Proposed English name: Guianan black-throated trogon.

‘Yellow-bellied Green Cuckoo’ Edwards, 1764, Gleanings of Nat. Hist., III, p. 256, pl. 331 – Trogon rufus Gmelin, 1788 , Syst. Nat., I, p. 404 [based on the illustration of ‘Le Courucou à queue rousse de Cayenne’, Buffon & d’Aubenton, 1765–81, Hist Nat des Ois. 6, p. 293, pl. 736, and the ‘Rufous Curucui’, Latham, 1782, Gen. Syn. 1(2), p. 490, pl. XXI], Cayenne – Trogon atricollis Vieillot, 1817 , Nouv. Dict. D’Hist. Nat. VIII, p. 318 (based on ‘Le Couroucou aranga’ LeVaillant in Couroucous, pl. 8), Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad – Trogon atricollis Gould, 1838 , a monograph of the Trogonidae or family of the Trogons, p. 39, pl. 8 (synonymising rufus with atricollis ) – Trogon lepturus Swainson, 1838 , Animals in Mengaries, part iii, p. 331 [composite species referring to Buffon & d’Aubenton’s ‘Le Courucou à queue rousse de Cayenne’ (= T. r. rufus female), pl. 736 and ‘Couroucou de Cayenne’, pl. 195 (= T. viridis Linnaeus, 1766 subadult male), Cayenne] – Pothinus atricollis Cabanis & Heine, 1862 –63, Mus. Hein., part IV, no. 1, pp. 180–181 – Trogon atricollis Pelzeln J, 1868 , Zur Orn. Bras., pp. 226–331: Borba (right bank Rio Madeira), Marabitanas Cucuí (upper Rio Negro) and Barra do Rio Negro (= Manaus) – Trogon atricollis (Race A) Grant, 1892 , Cat. Birds. Brit. Mus., 17, pp. 455–458: Dutch Guiana (= Suriname) ( Demerara), British Guiana (Bartica Grove) and Barra do Rio Negro (= Manaus) – Trogon atricollis atricollis Richmond, 1893 , Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 16, p. 513 – Trogon atricollis Ihering & Ihering, 1907 , Part. Catal. Fauna Brasil., I, Aves, p. 158, Rio Grande do Sul to Central America – Trogon rufus Berlepsch, 1908 , Novitates Zoologicae 15, p. 277 – Trogonurus curucui curucui Ridgway, 1911 , Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 50 (5), p. 764 – Trogon rufus Snethlage, 1914 , Part. Bol. Mus. Goeldi. 8, p. 208: Rio Guamá (Sta. Maria de S. Miguel), Obidos, Rio Jamundá (Faro) – Trogonurus curucui curucui Cory, 1919 , Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Zool. Ser., 13, p. 325 – Trogonurus rufus rufus Stone, 1928 , Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 80, p. 158 – Trogonurus rufus rufus Pinto, 1938 , Rev. Mus. Paul. 22, p. 289 – Trogon curucui curucui Griscom and Greenway, 1941 , Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 88, pp.180–181 – Trogon rufus rufus, Todd, 1943 , Proc. Biol.Soc. Wash. 56, p. 11. Upper Arucauá and Obidos, Brazil, Tamanoir and Pied Saut, French Guiana, and Rio Mocho, Venezuela – Trogon rufus rufus Peters, 1945 , Check-list of Birds of the World, Vol 5, p. 157 – Trogon rufus rufus Zimmer, 1948 , American Museum Novitates (1380), pp. 26–31 – Trogon rufus rufus Pinto, 1950 , Papeíes Avilsos de Zoologia, 9(9), pp. 89–136 – Trogon rufus rufus Pinto, 1978 , Novo Catal. das Aves do Brasil, 1ª Parte, p. 218. S Venezuela, the Guianas and north Brazil (east of the Rio Negro and Madeira).

Diagnosis: White, grey, blue or blue-grey eye-ring diagnostic against T. r. sulphureus , T. r. amazonicus and T. cupreicauda . Bill less serrated and body size smaller than in T. chrysochloros . Males: Compared to other Amazonian subspecies the uppertail is greener (≤ 587 nm), subterminal band of greener coloration absent and white breast band present or absent. Rump and chest also generally bluer-green. The undertail and wing panel have denser barring, narrower black bars and generally narrower white bars than T. r. sulphureus . Against T. r. amazonicus , wing panels have narrower white bars and greater density. Uppertail hue usually higher than T. tenellus , with narrower black bars and greater barring density on the undertail, and narrower white bars and higher density on the wing panel. Compared to T. cupreicauda , uppertail hue usually lower, undertail barring denser with narrower white bars, whilst wing panel black bars are narrower than in southern individuals. Compared to T. chrysochloros , the undertail and wingpanel barring are less dense, the percentage area black lower and white bars narrower. Females: Only safely separable from T. r. sulphureus and T. r. amazonicus by blue eye ring in some individuals. Still, compared to T. r. sulphureus the undertail and wing panel are usually more densely barred with narrower light brown bars, whilst in northern specimens the head is a darker, more reddish brown, chest lighter but less saturated and uppertail less saturated. The same trends in coloration separate it from T. r. amazonicus but the barring is similar. Against T. chrysochloros , the wing panel barring is less dense and black bars broader, uppertail saturation lower, head darker, more saturated and redder, mantle less yellow but more saturated, and chest less yellow and lighter. Against T. tenellus , the wing panel has broader black bars, higher percentage area black and generally greater density, the head and mantle are warmer and less saturated, chest usually less saturated and southern individuals (close to the Amazon River) have more saturated uppertails. The lack of an extensive brown wash on the undertail, broad wing panel black bars, relatively high undertail barring density and narrow white bars, and more saturated uppertail colour differentiate it from T. cupreicauda . Southern individuals also generally have a less saturated heads but more saturated mantles and chests.

Song: The lowest note frequencies of all taxa. Fewer notes per phrase, slower pace, longer note and pause durations and lower note frequencies than T. chrysochloros . Lower frequencies than T. tenellus . Fewer notes, lower frequencies and longer note durations than T. cupreicauda . Not safely separable from other Amazonian subspecies, although introductory note frequencies, especially low frequency, generally lower than in T. r. sulphureus . Compared to T. r. amazonicus , it generally has fewer notes per phrase, faster pace and a lower frequency introductory note with slightly shorter duration.

Distribution and habitat: Primary and advanced secondary growth humid forests of the Guiana Shield, including the Tepuis, from the east bank of the upper Rio Negro south to the Lower Amazon, in French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil. Up to an elevation of 1000 m. Absent from Marajó Island. Intergrades zone with T. r. amazonicus on the southern bank of the Lower Amazon.

Type material: Holotype: Plate of ‘Couroucou â queue rousse de Cayenne’ (= Russet-tailed Curucui) ex Buffon

Abbreviations correspond to Munsell hues: Y = Yellow, R = Red, YR = halfway between Yellow and Red.

& Daubenton 1765–81, pl. enl 736, from ‘Cayenne’ (= French Guiana).

Description: Both sexes are small compared to T. chrysochloros but generally larger than T. tenellus , T. cupreicauda and T. r. amazonicus . Males: Uppertail typically plain-green but varying from bottle-green (rarely more bluish) to shiny olive-green. Subterminal band of greener coloration absent. Head and mantle coppery green. Rump and chest generally more bluegreen. Belly yellow. Breast band usually present and complete, less often absent or incomplete. The wingpanel barring is moderately dense with narrow black bars, moderate white bars and low percentage area black. The white bars become narrower and barring denser on a northerly gradient so northern specimens have a more pronounced difference from Amazonian subspecies than those from closer to the Amazon River. Moderate terminal tailband width. Females: Brown coloration generally warmer, darker and less saturated than other taxa. Head is mostly warmer, less saturated and generally darker Dark to Very Dark Brown. The mantle varies from more to less yellow and less to more saturated Dark Yellowish Brown to Dark Olive Brown in a southerly direction towards the Amazon River. Chest is generally more-yellow, moderately saturated and generally lighter Olive Brown, sometimes with warmer Dark Yellowish Brown hues. Belly yellow. Uppertail Dark Reddish Brown, varying from poorly to highly saturated in a southerly direction. Brown wash on undertail usually restricted to the area surrounding the black patch at the base of the rectrices (not visible in natural position), less often restricted to the base or absent. Undertail with narrow black and white bars, high barring density and a moderate percentage area black. Wing panel with moderate black bars widths, narrow light brown bars, moderate to high barring density and generally high percentage area black. Bareparts: Male eye-ring usually white or blue, less often grey, blue-grey or green. Female eye-ring usually blue-grey, blue or grey, sometimes white. Tarsi mostly grey, less often olive, uncommonly pink to purplishgrey. Bill yellow-green to yellow, occasionally grey, less vivid in females with black along culmen ridge until just posterior to the tip of the bill. Iris brown to black.

Song: A simple phrase of around three repeated notes, moderate pace, relatively long introductory note and moderate loudsong note durations, moderate pause following introductory note, low introductory note frequencies, low loudsong note frequencies and narrow introductory and loudsong note bandwidths. Twenty-one per cent of songs contained two-note phrases. The similar frequencies of the introductory note compared to the loudsong notes gives it a less ‘introductory’ quality than in other taxa.