Resplendent quetzal

케찰

A bird of Central American cloud forests with an emerald body and red belly. In the breeding season males trail green tail coverts several times longer than the body. The Maya and Aztecs held it sacred.

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At a glance

Class: Birds
Lives in: Cloud forests from southern Mexico to Panama
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Weight: about 0.21 kg
Conservation status: Near Threatened (IUCN NT)
Habitat: rainforests, mountains

Quick answers

Where does the Resplendent quetzal live?

It lives in rainforests, mountains. On the globe you can find it near Cloud forests from southern Mexico to Panama.

How big is the Resplendent quetzal?

It grows to about 0.21 kg.

What does the Resplendent quetzal eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

Is the Resplendent quetzal endangered?

It is listed as Near Threatened (IUCN NT).

The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a small, brilliant bird of the cloud forests of southern Mexico and Central America. The male has an emerald-green back, a red belly, black wings and a white underside to the tail. In breeding season his green tail feathers trail several times longer than his body.

The female is duller and has a shorter tail. The quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala, and Guatemala's money is called the quetzal. The Maya and Aztecs held the bird sacred, and it is linked to the feathered-serpent god Quetzalcoatl. It is rated Near Threatened.

Life in the cloud forest

Quetzals live in cool, misty mountain forests. They mostly eat fruit, especially from trees of the laurel family, and sometimes catch insects, lizards, frogs and snails. They move up and down mountainsides during the year, a movement called altitudinal migration, and during the breeding season they travel from the slopes to the forest canopy. Their food and nesting places both depend on healthy mature forest.

Nests and threats

Quetzals nest in holes in dead trees, often ones that woodpeckers have made. The female lays one to three eggs, which hatch in 17 to 19 days. The parents take turns: the male sits on the eggs during the day and the female at night. The biggest threat is the loss of cloud forest. A Mexican naturalist, Pablo de La Llave, first described the bird in 1832.

Fun facts

It is the national bird of Guatemala, whose currency is also called the quetzal.
The male's tail feathers can be several times longer than his body.
Guatemala's currency is named after the quetzal.
The male sits on the eggs in the daytime and the female at night.