Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)Resplendent Quetzal

Costa Rica bird species · Trogons and the quetzal

Trogons in Costa Rica: all 9 species, and where to see them

9 species, 2 found only in this corner of the world, and the tail to look under for each one.

Costa Rica's official list has 9 trogons, one family, about one bird in every 105 on it. The biggest is the Resplendent Quetzal, 36 to 40 cm before the male's plumes, and it has a page of its own that this page leaves to it. The Gartered Violaceous Trogon is among the smallest at 23 to 25 cm, about the length of a sheet of letter paper, with a yellow belly and a narrow white band above it.

Two of the nine are regional endemics, which means they live only in this small corner of the world: the Lattice-tailed Trogon and Baird's Trogon. Five of our Pacific hotspot pages name Baird's Trogon, from Bahía Ballena south to Golfito and Corcovado. We name no place for the Lattice-tailed Trogon yet.

Trogons are easier to find by what they do than by their colours. The Slaty-tailed Trogon often follows a troop of white-faced capuchin monkeys and takes the insects they flush, the Graceful Black-throated Trogon has been watched doing the same behind squirrel monkeys, and the Gartered Violaceous Trogon nests inside a wasp nest. To tell a Collared Trogon from a Slaty-tailed one, look under the tail: barred black and white, or plain slate grey.

Where to see them

Trogons turn up in every zone we cover, from the cloud forest to the lowland rainforest and the Osa. These are the places where we name them.

Map of Costa Rica with the 21 places where we name trogons and the quetzal, numbered, over the five birding zones
San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valleyMonteverde Cloud Forest ReserveRancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaLa Selva Biological Station, SarapiquíBraulio Carrillo National ParkThe Mistico hanging bridges at ArenalCurú Wildlife Refuge and the Río PochoteSanta Rosa and Guanacaste National ParksMarino Ballena National Park and Bahía BallenaHacienda Barú National Wildlife RefugeCorcovado National Park and the OsaLos Cusingos and the San Isidro valley
© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap
  • Place where we name them
  • Highlands
  • Caribbean Foothills
  • Caribbean Lowlands
  • Northern Pacific Lowlands
  • Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
  1. 1San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valleyHighlandsResplendent Quetzal
  2. 2Los Quetzales National ParkHighlandsResplendent Quetzal
  3. 3Cerro de la Muerte and the km 70 lookoutsHighlandsResplendent Quetzal
  4. 4Tapantí National Park, above the Orosí valleyHighlandsResplendent Quetzal
  5. 5Poás Volcano National Park and its slopesHighlandsResplendent Quetzal
  6. 6Monteverde Cloud Forest ReserveHighlandsResplendent Quetzal, Collared Trogon
  7. 7Santa Elena Cloud Forest ReserveHighlandsResplendent Quetzal, Collared Trogon
  8. 8Curi-Cancha Reserve, MonteverdeHighlandsResplendent Quetzal, Collared Trogon
  9. 9Rancho Naturalista's reserve, above TurrialbaCaribbean FoothillsGartered Violaceous Trogon
  10. 10La Selva Biological Station, SarapiquíCaribbean LowlandsSlaty-tailed Trogon, Gartered Violaceous Trogon, Graceful Black-throated Trogon
  11. 11Braulio Carrillo National ParkCaribbean LowlandsResplendent Quetzal, Lattice-tailed Trogon
  12. 12The Mistico hanging bridges at ArenalCaribbean LowlandsSlaty-tailed Trogon, Graceful Black-throated Trogon
  13. 13Curú Wildlife Refuge and the Río PochoteNorthern Pacific LowlandsBlack-headed Trogon, Elegant Trogon
  14. 14Santa Rosa and Guanacaste National ParksNorthern Pacific LowlandsBlack-headed Trogon, Elegant Trogon
  15. 15Carara National ParkCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsSlaty-tailed Trogon, Black-headed Trogon, Baird's Trogon, Graceful Black-throated Trogon
  16. 16Marino Ballena National Park and Bahía BallenaCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBaird's Trogon
  17. 17Hacienda Barú National Wildlife RefugeCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBaird's Trogon
  18. 18Piedras Blancas National Park and the Golfo DulceCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBaird's Trogon
  19. 19Corcovado National Park and the OsaCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBaird's Trogon
  20. 20Los Cusingos and the San Isidro valleyCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsGartered Violaceous Trogon
  21. 21Golfito Wildlife RefugeCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsBaird's Trogon

The 2 regional endemics

The two you can only see in this part of the world.

Lattice-tailed Trogon, Baird's Trogon.

All 9 trogons on the list

The full group as Costa Rica's official list has it, in the list's own order. Tick them off on the printable checklist.

Names and status: AOCR Lista Oficial 2025-2026, June 2026 update.

Trips that find them

Most of our trips cross a trogon, and nearly all cross the quetzal. These name at least two of the nine on the way.

Is this bird on your list?

Tell us the birds you most want to see, your dates and how you like to travel, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary built around them. That first version is just a place to start.

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Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.

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