Cavity-Nesting Birds of North American Forests / Agriculture Handbook 511

by Virgil E. Scott; Keith E. Evans; David R. Patton; Charles P. Stone

Habitat: This small swift is most likely to be found in river valleys among dense Douglas-fir and redwood forests in the western United States.

Nest: Nests are usually located in tall hollow snags in burned or logged areas and are made from twigs (Peterson 1961, Robbins et al. 1966). Nests have been reported in unused chimneys and under building eaves (Bent 1940).

Food: Flying insects such as mosquitoes, gnats, flies, and small beetles captured in flight probably make up the entire diet (Bent 1940).

Coppery-tailed trogon

Trogon elegans

L 10″

Habitat: Coppery-tailed trogons can be found along riparian streams and in pine-oak forests in Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and southern Texas.

Nest: Nests are found 12 to 40 feet above the ground in deserted large woodpecker holes (Bent 1940). Cottonwood and sycamore snags are usually selected for nests. Of the 34 species in the family Trogonidae, this is the only one that breeds in the United States (Wetmore 1964).