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The Ramsey Canyon Preserve in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona is famous for the clouds of hummingbirds that swarm around its feeders in late summer. But the rare and spectacular Elegant Trogon is also found here. A native of Mexico and Central America, it breeds in the United States only in a few of Arizona’s southern canyons. Pairs of trogons set up housekeeping each summer in Ramsey and other canyons. They are surprisingly inconspicuous, as they perch quietly. They nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker nests, mostly in the beautiful white-barked sycamore trees that line the canyons.
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BirdNote®
Elegant Trogon and Ramsey Canyon Preserve
Written by Dennis Paulson
This is BirdNote!
[Black-chinned Hummingbird, chipping and wing whirring]
The Ramsey Canyon Preserve in the Huachuca (wa-CHOO-ka) Mountains of Arizona is famous for the clouds of hummingbirds that swarm around its feeders in late summer. But the tiny aerial acrobats are by no means the only attraction. Rare and spectacular Elegant Trogons (TRO-gahns) are also found here.
[Elegant Trogon calling]
“Elegant” describes well this emerald-green and poppy-red bird, its white tail feathers marked with scrimshaw-like designs. A native of Mexico and Central America, it breeds in the United States only in a few of Arizona’s southern canyons. These canyons drain the rugged mountain ranges called Sky Islands.
[Elegant Trogon calling]
Pairs of trogons set up housekeeping each summer in Ramsey and other canyons. Although brilliantly colored, they are surprisingly inconspicuous, as they perch quietly. They are on the lookout for large insects and fruits that they pluck from trees while hovering in flight. They nest in natural cavities or old woodpecker nests, mostly in the beautiful white-barked sycamore trees that line the canyons.
[Elegant Trogon calling]
Today’s show is brought to you by The Bobolink Foundation. For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann, inviting you to drop into Ramsay Canyon via our website, birdnote.org. Treat yourself to trogons and hummingbirds, like these Black-chinned Hummingbirds.
[Black-chinned Hummingbird sounds]
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Sounds of the birds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Chipping and wing whirs of Black-chinned Hummingbird 109095 recorded by G.A. Keller; call of Elegant Trogon 40585 recorded by G.A. Keller; and ambient drawn from Broad-billed Hummingbird 121949 recorded by C. Marantz.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2012 Tune In to Nature.org August 2016/2021 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# ELTR-01-2012-08-07
Dennis Paulson
Writer
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
