Harpactes

This article is about genus of birds. For the spider genus, see Harpactea.

Harpactes
File:MalabarTrogonGould.jpg
Malabar trogon, Harpactes fasciatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Trogoniformes
Family:	Trogonidae
Genus:	Harpactes Swainson, 1833
Type species
Trogon malabaricus Gould, 1834
Synonyms
Duvaucelius

Harpactes is a genus of birds in the family Trogonidae found in forests in South and Southeast Asia, extending into southernmost China. They are strongly sexually dimorphic, with females generally being duller than males. Their back is brownish, the tail is partially white (best visible from below), and males of most species have red underparts. They feed on arthropods, small lizards and fruit.

Taxonomy

Ther genus Harpactes was introduced in 1833 by the English zoologist William Swainson. He did not specify a type species but in 1840 by the English zoologist George Gray designated the type as Trogon malabaricus Gould, 1834. This taxon is now considered as a subspecies of Harpactes fasciatus Pennant, 1769, the Malabar trogon. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ἁρπακτης/harpaktēs meaning "robber".

Two species, cinnamon-rumped and scarlet-rumped trogons, were previously classified in a separate genus, Duvaucelius, and a 2010 study found that these two were closely related and formed a separate clade from all of the other Harpactes trogons (except orange-breasted trogon, which forms a third group), but recommended that all three groups should be treated as congeneric. This same study also found that the genus Apalharpactes, containing two species sometimes included in Harpactes, is actually distantly related and thus a valid genus.

Species

The genus contains ten species.

Male	Female	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
File:Harpactes fasciatus 02.jpg	File:Malabar Trogon female.jpg	Malabar trogon	Harpactes fasciatus	India and Sri Lanka
File:Red-naped Trogon.png		Red-naped trogon	Harpactes kasumba	Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo
File:Harpactes diardii 501460.jpg		Diard's trogon	Harpactes diardii	Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo
File:Philippine trogon.jpg	File:PhilippineTrogonFemale.jpg	Philippine trogon	Harpactes ardens	Philippines (except West Visayas, Palawan group and Sulu Archipelago)
File:Whitehead's Trogon 0A2A6215.jpg		Whitehead's trogon	Harpactes whiteheadi	montane north Borneo
File:Harpactes orrhophaeus 226638721.jpg		Cinnamon-rumped trogon	Harpactes orrhophaeus	Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo
File:Scarlet-rumped Trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii) - Flickr - Lip Kee (2).jpg		Scarlet-rumped trogon	Harpactes duvaucelii	Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Batu Islands (west of central Sumatra), Riau Islands (east of central Sumatra), Bangka Island and Belitung (east of south Sumatra), Natuna Islands (northwest of Borneo) and Borneo
File:Harpactes oreskios - Kaeng Krachan.jpg	File:Harpactes oreskios 221157061.jpg	Orange-breasted trogon	Harpactes oreskios	southeast Asia and Greater Sundas
File:Harpactes erythrocephalus 242493735.jpg		Red-headed trogon	Harpactes erythrocephalus	Himalayas and south China to Sumatra
		Ward's trogon	Harpactes wardi	northeast India to north Vietnam

Further reading

• Allen, R. (2001). Genus Harpactes. pp. 106–111 in: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, & J. Sargatal. eds. (2001). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.