THE RESPLENDENT QUETZAL

Each month we'll highlight one of Fred's amazing bird photographs. Click lower right for more information.

The resplendent quetzal is an endangered species. Only a few specimens are left in Mexico and Central America. However, there is a relatively large population here in Costa Rica due to the country’s forest protection efforts.

The prime time for resplendent quetzal watching in Costa Rica is from mid-February to July, their mating season. During this time, the avocado trees bear the resplendent quetzal's favorite fruit. And don’t forget to pack your winter clothes. Even though it is still the tropics, high elevation and moisture can bring temperatures down to the low 40s Fahrenheit.

Learn more about this spectacular bird in these Howler articles:s:

• It’s Quetzal Time! Ripe Avocados

Make San Gerardo de Dota a Birding

Paradise

• Costa Rica’s Shangri-La: Los Quetzales National Park

• Behind the Image: Resplendent

Quetzal

Photography as Ecotourism

Bird in Brief: The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)

• The only bird on earth with the word “resplendent” in its common name

• In several Mesoamerican languages, the word “quetzal” means sacred, erected, or precious

• Revered in Aztec and Mayan cultures as sacred — “god of the air” — and as symbols of light, freedom, and wealth

• Declared as Guatemala’s national bird in 1871, as reflected in the country’s coat of arms, flag, postage stamps and currency

• Territorial, monogamous breeders, but solitary during the non-breeding season

• Both males and females are involved in all breeding aspects, from nest building and incubation to rearing young fledgelings

• Young males take up to three years to grow their long tail feathers to the full length

Source: whitehawkbirding.com