[2] The species is named in honor of Spencer Fullerton Baird, a renowned naturalist of the 19th century who served as the first curator of the Smithsonian Institution.

The male's head and most of the breast are bluish black and the rest of the underparts a rich bright red.

The female replaces the blue and green with dark slate above and a paler gray in the throat and breast.

[4] Baird's trogon is found on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica from approximately the Tárcoles River south just into western Panama's Chiriquí Province.

It primarily inhabits the interior canopy of humid rainforest but also occurs at its edges, in tall secondary forest, and in shady semi-open woodland.