The Blue-tailed Trogon is fairly common to uncommon in humid forest foothills of Colombia and northwest Ecuador, up to 1,800m. It is a metallic blueish-green overall, with a black mask, bright red belly and undertail coverts, and a uniformly dark undertail. The rump and uppertail have a purple hue and both sexes show a broad and definite black tip on uppertail. Adults have white eyes and yellow bills, which in combination with its smaller size and black tail band distinguish this species from the similar Slaty-tailed Trogon, which is sometimes sympatric. The blue-tailed Trogon is often solitary but can also be observed in loose groups. To avoid confusion with an old world trogon of the same common name, this species is sometimes referred to as the Chocó Trogon (Ridegly & Greenfield 2001).