Narina TrogonApaloderma narina BosloerieTrogon Narina Stephens, 1815, in Shaw's Gen. Zool., 9(1):14; 'country of the Auteniquoi to the river Gamtoo', ie George, W Cape(ex Levaillant). narina (Khoikhoi) = flower, original name given by Levaillant (1807). Uncertain whether Levaillant's choice was because of its colourful plumage,or because the bird reminded him of a beautiful young Khoikhoi woman by the same name. That Stephens capitalised Narina suggests the latter. 1. A. n. narina; 2. A. n. rufiventre; 3. A. n. littorale. |
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Male showing throat patch Kloof Gorge, KwaZulu-Natal, Oct 1994 Photo Guy Gibbon (D) |
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GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Mainly in the shade or extent of bronze in upper parts, intensity of red below, strength of colour in secondaries and secondary coverts, and tail length. Subspp: Africa 5, s Africa 3.
1. A. n. narina (Stephens). Western Cape from Swellendam area east and north through E Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Limpopo Province and s Mozambique. (Described under Identification.) 2. A. n. rufiventre (Dubois), 1896, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., p999; region of Lake Tanganyika (restricted to Mpala, se DRC, by Clancey 1959, Durban Mus. Novit., 5(12):162). Eastern highlands of Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique, incl Mt Gorongosa, west to n Botswana, Caprivi and n Namibia. Extralimitally, in Angola, s DRC, Uganda, w Tanzania and n Malawi. More bronze than nominate, underparts deeper red; smaller: mass (3 male) 54-61 (56.3), (2 unsexed, imm) 49.2, 57.021. 3. A. n. littorale Van Someren, 1931, Bull. Br. Ornithol. Club, 51:80; Sokoke Forest, north of Mombasa, Kenya. Mozambique north of Limpopo R; 1 collected Chirinda Forest, e Zimbabwe, but status there uncertain27. Extralimitally, north to coastal Kenya and sw Somalia. Male more bronzy metallic green above than nominate, more scarlet below; smaller and shorter tailed: wing (5 unsexed) 120-129 (124.5), tail (5 unsexed) 140-155 (148)18. |
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Female race narina Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, Aug 2004 Photo Herman Bos (D) |
Male race litterale Inhambane, Mozambique Photo Maans Booysen (D) |
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| MEASUREMENTS: A. n. narina wing (17 male) 122-140 (132), (12 female) 124-139 (132); tail (17 male) 145-170 (158), (12 female) 155-170 (161)18; tarsus (25 unsexed) 16-17 (no mean)33; culmen (17 male) 19-20 (19.5), (12 female) 18-20 (19)18; mass (2 male) 67.6, 72.441, (1 female) 6913, A. n. littorale, Kenya, Uganda18, possibly also incl A. n. rufiventre (8 male) 55-72 (61.6), (7 female) 51-71 (60.4). |
| MOULT: Ads have complete post-br moult. Sequence of replacement of primaries in 1 female mid Mar in Zambia confused14. In Malawi, 1 ad apparently in suspended moult Dec; juvs may have only partial first moult; 1 in May replacing only contour feathers at same locality21. |
| CONSERVATION: Status uncertain. Possibly impacted by habitat loss through forest clearance and removal of large trees38; may be most vulnerable in riverine forest. Population in s Mozambique has probably decreased due to deforestation39. Small populations in n Botswana and Caprivi Strip potentially threatened by habitat destruction by African Elephant Loxodonta africana and humans38. |
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