: any of numerous nonpasserine tropical birds (family Trogonidae) with brilliant often iridescent plumage
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe elegant trogon is one of the most highly prized sightings of birders who come from around the world for the opportunity. Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2022 One song had survived—Suzy’s recording of a violaceous trogon. Karen Russell, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2021 There were trogons and toucans, curassows and woodpeckers.National Geographic, 19 Dec. 2019 This connectivity allows mammals like jaguars—which have a breeding population in northwest Mexico—and birds like elegant trogons to trek up from Central America. Douglas Main, National Geographic, 25 Apr. 2019 Meanwhile, birds that spend little or no time in the air, like tropical pittas and trogons, have more spherical eggs. Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 22 June 2017
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, genus name, from Greek trōgōn, present participle of trōgein to gnaw