Philippine trogon
Philippine trogon
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Philippine trogon

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Philippine trogon

The Philippine trogon (Harpactes ardens) is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to the Philippines found on regions of Luzon, Eastern Visayas, and Mindanao. It is the only species of trogon in the country. While not a threatened species, its population is declining due to habitat loss and hunting.

Its Latin name ardens translates to burning, flaming, glowing, fiery which is likely in reference to its bright colors.

Five subspecies are recognised:

It is primarily an insectivore that feeds on grasshoppers, stick insects, praying mantises and other insects. It has also been recorded feeding on a small lizards and amphibians.

Breeding season is from March to June. Nest in tree holes above 5 meters from the forest floor. Its clutch size is 3 eggs. Interestingly, only males have been observed incubating but it is presumed that the females also participate.

It is found in tropical moist lowland forest and the lower reaches of tropical moist mountain forest up to 2,000 meters above sea level but is most common under 600 meters above sea level.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this bird as a Least-concern species as it has a large range and is still locally common in some areas. However, despite not being a threatened species, the population is believed to be on the decline. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion and mining activities occurring within the range.

Occurs in a many protected areas in Bataan National Park, Bulusan Volcano Natural Park, Angat Watershed Forest Reserve, Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park on Luzon, Pasonanca Natural Park, Mount Kitanglad, Mount Apo on Mindanao; Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape in Bohol; and Samar Island Natural Park in Samar. While all of these areas are protected by law, deforestation, mining, hunting and habitat loss still continue in some of these protected areas.

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