Cuban trogon
Priotelus temnurus
— Where the name comes from
Priotelus joins the Greek príōn, “saw”, and télos, “end”: its tail feathers finish in a jagged edge. Temnurus adds the same idea with other words, témnō, “to cut”, and ourá, “tail”. Tocororo is the Cuban name, and it repeats the call: to-co-ro, to-co-ro.
— Facts
- Group
- Birds · Aves
- Order
- Trogons and quetzals
- Habitat
- Humid and dry forest, mountain woodland
- Range
- Endemic to Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud
- Size
- 25–28 cm, 47–75 g
- Diet
- Flowers, fruit, insects
- Lifespan
- Not precisely known
— Characteristics
- 01
It has a blue head, a white breast and a red belly.
- 02
Its tail is long and stepped, with ragged tips.
- 03
It nests in old woodpecker holes.
— What sets it apart
It is the national bird of Cuba, and not by chance: blue, white and red are the colours of the Cuban flag. Popular tradition adds a second reason: it is said that the tocororo cannot survive in a cage and, once caught, lets itself die, and so it has become a symbol of freedom. Like all trogons it has two toes pointing forward and two back, but in an arrangement different from that of parrots and woodpeckers, found only in trogons.
