If you go looking for some of Panama’s most spectacular birds, sooner or later you will encounter trogons and quetzals. They belong to the same bird family, the Trogonidae, and share several characteristics: brilliant colors, large eyes, compact bodies and a strong connection to forest habitats.
But seeing them in the wild reveals just how different they really are.
The quetzal is the celebrity—the impossibly beautiful bird with shimmering green plumage and extravagant tail feathers. Trogons are more mysterious. They often sit almost motionless on a branch, seemingly appearing out of nowhere before disappearing back into the forest.
And Panama is an exceptional place to look for both.
The Quetzal: Panama's Bird From Another World
The Resplendent Quetzal is undoubtedly the more famous of the two.
A male in full breeding plumage looks almost fictional. Depending on the light, its feathers can shimmer green, turquoise and gold, while its belly is an intense crimson-red. Then come the extraordinary tail coverts, extending dramatically beyond the body.
It is difficult to look at one and believe that such a bird actually evolved naturally.
In Panama, the Resplendent Quetzal is associated particularly with the cool, wet highland forests of western Panama, especially around the mountains of Chiriquí and the Volcán Barú region.
This immediately gives the quetzal an important distinction from many trogons.
You generally don't find yourself wandering through a hot lowland rainforest and casually stumbling across a Resplendent Quetzal. You need to go higher, where the rainforest becomes cooler, wetter and increasingly cloaked in mist.
And that's part of what makes finding one such an adventure.
Trogons: The Jungle's Understated Beauties
Trogons don't have quite the same mythical reputation as the quetzal, but Panama's trogons are spectacular in their own right.
The country is home to several species, including the Slaty-tailed Trogon, Black-tailed Trogon, White-tailed Trogon, Gartered Trogon and Black-throated Trogon.
And this is where Panama becomes especially interesting for birdwatchers.
Different trogon species occupy different habitats, including lowland rainforest and mountain forest. This means you don't necessarily have to climb into the highlands to encounter a brilliantly colored member of the family.
You could be walking through tropical rainforest near sea level when a flash of red, green or yellow catches your eye.
You look up.
There it is.
A trogon sitting quietly on a branch.
The Slaty-tailed Trogon: A Rainforest Specialist
The Slaty-tailed Trogon is a particularly good example of why trogons shouldn't simply be considered "less spectacular quetzals."
It has striking plumage and a beautifully contrasting tail, but it also possesses the characteristic trogon behavior of seeming almost ridiculously calm.
One moment the forest looks empty.
Then you notice a bird sitting motionless above the trail.
It may remain there long enough for you to study it before suddenly flying away.
The famous Pipeline Road near Panama City is one of the places where birdwatchers search for several trogon species. The combination of mature rainforest, trails and exceptional bird diversity makes the area one of Panama's classic birding destinations.
The Black-tailed Trogon: Color Hidden in the Green
The Black-tailed Trogon is another beautiful Panamanian species.
Like many trogons, it has a fascinating combination of brilliant colors and almost comically relaxed behavior.
That may be the strangest thing about them.
They look as though somebody designed them for a fantasy movie.
Yet when you finally find one, it may simply be sitting on a branch doing absolutely nothing.
No dramatic display.
No frantic movement.
Just an extraordinarily colorful bird staring back at you from the jungle.
And somehow that makes the encounter even better.
The Quetzal Is More Famous—but Not Necessarily Easier to Find
Pictures can make the quetzal look like a bird that would be impossible to miss.
In the wild, things are very different.
Its mountain-forest habitat can be incredibly dense, and even a bird with such extraordinary colors can disappear among leaves and branches.
Sometimes you don't see the whole bird.
You see a flash of green.
Then perhaps the red of its belly.
Then a long tail moving behind vegetation.
And suddenly it's gone.
Finding a quetzal can feel less like birdwatching and more like searching for a hidden treasure.
Trogons Have One Major Advantage
For a traveler hoping to see as many of these birds as possible, trogons have an important advantage: there are several species living in a variety of habitats across Panama.
A morning of birdwatching in lowland rainforest can potentially produce multiple trogon species.
The quetzal, meanwhile, is considerably more specialized.
Its association with cool, high-elevation cloud forest means that finding one usually requires going to particular parts of western Panama and spending time in the right habitat.
That specialization is part of what gives the quetzal its legendary status.
The Great Habitat Difference
A simplified way of thinking about the two groups is:
Quetzal:
High elevations, cool cloud forests, extremely humid mountain habitats and particularly the highlands of western Panama.
Trogons:
Depending on the species, lowland rainforest, humid forest, foothills and mountain forests.
Panama's geography makes this especially fascinating.
Within a relatively short distance, you can travel from hot Caribbean or Pacific lowlands into misty mountain forests. As the elevation changes, the birdlife changes with it.
For a backpacker, this means that Panama can almost feel like several different countries stacked on top of each other.
They Are Actually Close Relatives
One of the most interesting things about this comparison is that trogons and quetzals aren't completely separate types of birds.
They belong to the same family: Trogonidae.
The quetzals are essentially some of the most spectacular members of this larger family.
Evolution, however, has taken them in fascinatingly different directions.
The quetzal developed extraordinary ornamental tail feathers and shimmering plumage.
Trogons developed their own combinations of vivid colors, distinctive tails and highly specialized forest lifestyles.
They are related—but they certainly don't look like identical cousins.
So Which One Is More Beautiful?
If the competition is purely about appearance, the Resplendent Quetzal is difficult to beat.
The combination of metallic green plumage, crimson belly and ridiculously long tail feathers is extraordinary.
But if the competition is about the overall wildlife experience, the answer becomes much less obvious.
A trogon can appear unexpectedly in a lowland rainforest.
A quetzal may require you to travel into the mountains, get up before sunrise, walk through misty forest and spend hours patiently searching.
The trogon is the unexpected discovery.
The quetzal is the prize at the end of the hunt.
The Perfect Birding Challenge for a Backpacker
If you're traveling through Panama, don't simply make your goal "see a quetzal."
Make it:
Find a trogon. Find a quetzal.
Look for trogons in the country's rainforest reserves and mature forests. Slow down, listen for bird calls and scan the branches carefully.
Then, when you reach the highlands of Chiriquí, begin your quetzal hunt.
Maybe you'll get incredibly lucky and find one sitting just a few meters away.
Maybe you'll spend hours in the cloud forest and see nothing more than a flash of green disappearing into the mist.
That's the magic of it.
Wildlife isn't a zoo.
There are no guarantees.
You can walk through the forest for two hours and see absolutely nothing.
Then a branch moves above you.
You look up.
And suddenly one of Panama's most extraordinary birds is staring back.
For a few seconds, the rainforest feels completely different.
That's why trogons and quetzals are so fascinating. The quetzal may be the celebrity, but the trogons prove that Panama's forests are full of spectacular birds hiding in plain sight.