Hispaniolan Trogon

Its foraging behaviour is presumed to be similar to that of other species of trogon: most food is taken in aerial sallies to fruit or to surrounding vegetation. The species primarily forages in the midstory of humid deciduous and pine forests. A study of mixed-species flocks on Hispaniola recorded two encounters with the Hispaniolan trogon, both of which were associated with mixed flocks.

The Hispaniolan trogon is a forest-dependent species, and is vulnerable to habitat loss or degradation The IUCN Red List conservation status of the Hispaniolan trogon is assessed as Near Threatened, because its population is continuing to decline throughout its small range, owing to forest degradation and fragmentation. Forest loss and fragmentation owing to shifting agriculture are causing a decline, particularly in moist forest areas. Dry forests have been considerably altered by charcoal production, and pine forests have been reduced as a consequence of indiscriminate logging and clear-cutting. In particular, recent habitat destruction along highways has caused a drastic decline of the population in the Cordillera Central, but it is occasionally seen on abandoned coffee farms and old cocoa groves in the Cordillera Septentrional. The species is also subject to hunting. However, as the range is relatively wide and not yet severely fragmented, the species is classified as Near Threatened. Some populations are afforded protection by national parks, such as in the Sierra de Baoruco. Proposed conservation actions include monitoring the population regularly, effectively protecting national parks that hold populations of the species, encouraging forms of agriculture which do not require forest clearance, discouraging charcoal production in native forests, and raising awareness of the uniqueness of the species, as well as discourage hunting.