13 Mar 2010

Orange-breasted Trogon mating

by | posted in: Courtship-Mating | 5

A female Orange-breasted Trogon (Harpactes oreskios) was quietly perching on a branch when she was alerted by the call of a male nearby. Also nearby was a tailless male trogon.

The female trogon suddenly flew to perch on a clear branch, responding with a soft call. And just as suddenly, the first male flew to her, mounted her (above) and in a split second or so, completed the cloacal kiss (below).

The entire copulatory act took Adrian Lim a.k.a wmw998 by surprise. He was not ready to document the action and came away with these images, among others.

Images by Adrian Lim.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

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Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

5 Responses

  1. James
    | Reply

    Lovely picture. May I ask for some more information, where was this image captured and on which date? Was the tail-less Male nearby a juvenile. I’m currently writing a paper on the breeding of Orange-breasted Trogon and Red-headed Trogon at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. If this picture was taken recently it would be a late record compared with OBT breeding at KYNP. Does Red-headed Trogon also occur in the same area?

    I would be very interested in any nest record dates you may have?

    James Steward

  4. Nizam
    | Reply

    Hi
    Im nizam . our unit is in the midst of producing a book on birds of Malaysia. by chance is your picture for sale, if so how much.

    thank you.

    have a nice day.

    I can be contacted @ 0122935523

  5. YC
    | Reply

    Hi Nizam. The photographs in this website have been contributed by various people. You need to identify the photos you are interested in. I can then let you know who the owners are. You then need to contact the owners separately. Thanks for your interest.

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