[2] However, as of 2024 the North American Classification Committee of the AOS and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) have not recognized the split, retaining the six-subspecies black-throated trogon.

[2] Like most trogons, the northern black-throated has distinctive male and female plumages with soft colorful feathers.

Adult males have a black face and throat with a pale blue ring of bare skin around their eye.

The upper side of their central pair of tail feathers is bluish with wide black tips.

Adult females have mostly brown upperparts; their crown is darker and their rump and uppertail coverts lighter.

The upper side of their central pair of tail feathers is rufous-brown to chestnut with narrow black tips and a faint cinnamon-buff band between the colors.

[8][9][10][11][12][excessive citations] "Trogons and quetzals perch erectly with tail hanging downward, and they may remain motionless and quiet for protracted periods.

"[13] (emphasis in original) The northern black-throated trogon is a year-round resident throughout its range, though it possibly moves downslope at times of heavy rain.

It has been observed following troops of Central American squirrel monkeys (Saimiri oerstedii), apparently to capture prey disturbed by them.

Its breeding season begins with nest cavity excavation as early as mid-February; egg laying can be as late as June and July near sea level.

Both members of a pair excavate a nest cavity in a decaying tree or stump, siting it as high as 6 m (20 ft) above the ground.