On 29 June 1982 I heard extended post-dusk calling by an Elegant Trogon (Trogon elegans) in the South Fork portion of Cave Creek Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona. There was a half-full, waxing moon and light intensity in the canyon due to both direct and cliff-side reflected light was sufficiently bright to see many details of the South Fork Creek riparian vegetation quite clearly. The bird commenced calling at 2112, approximately 45 minutes after all noticeable solar illumination had concluded. The bird called a series of the typical turkey-like “cory-cory-cory” notes at intervals of about 20 seconds for at least 17 minutes, and last call series noted occurring at 2129.
During the calling period, the bird moved the length of a territory that I and accompanying observers had noted earlier that day. I heard no other trogon vocalize, and the only other conspicuous noises occurring locally during the same period were the calls of one or more Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis) from a distance high above on the slopes of this same canyon; the owls did not commence calling until several minutes after the trogon initiated its sequence of calls.