Resplendent Quetzal

Overview

The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a small, colorful bird native to Central America and southern Mexico. It is the largest member of the trogon family and is well known for its iridescent plumage and cultural significance, serving as the national animal of Guatemala.

Identification

• Males feature iridescent green body plumage with a red lower breast and belly, long tail streamers, and a yellow bill; females are duller with grey lower parts, bronze-green heads, and shorter tails.
• The bird is 36 to 40 cm long, with male tail streamers ranging from 31 cm to over 100 cm.
• It produces a song of full-toned, mellow, and slurred notes such as 'keow, kowee, keow, k'loo, keeloo'.
• Green upper tail coverts are particularly splendid in breeding males, often longer than the rest of the body.

Habitat

This species inhabits lush, moist tropical rainforests and montane cloud forests at elevations between 900 and 3,200 m. It is found from southern Mexico through Central America to western Panama, occupying the canopy and subcanopy layers of these forests.

Diet

The resplendent quetzal is an omnivore that specializes in fruits, particularly from the laurel family, which it swallows whole to disperse seeds. It also consumes insects, lizards, frogs, and snails, foraging by hovering and stalling to pick fruit from branch tips.

Did you know?

The bird is a symbol of liberty because it was traditionally believed to die quickly in captivity due to the ingestion of iron, a trait immortalized in the Guatemalan national anthem with the verse 'Be rather dead than a slave'.