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  Profile

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  In flight

Tropical Birds

Resplendent Quetzal

Pharomachrus mocinno

• rare
• 129 km/h
• Near Threatened

Sacred to the Aztecs, gorgeous to everyone. Trailing emerald tail feathers shimmer in flight.

Population

50,000-499,999 mature individuals, decreasing (BirdLife/IUCN 2022 assessment)

Habitat

Humid montane cloud forest and pine-evergreen forest, typically ~900-3,200 m elevation (BirdLife DataZone records a wider elevational limit of ~170-3,420 m for the species overall); needs old-growth trees with cavities for nesting and is intolerant of large-scale forest loss

Fun fact

In breeding males the iridescent green upper tail coverts (not the true tail) grow into trailing streamers up to about a meter long (median ~75 cm, max recorded ~100.5 cm) — nearly three times the bird's own body length — plumes prized by the Maya and Aztec as symbols of royalty and freedom.

Range

Southern Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas) through Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, to western Panama (Chiriquí); extent of occurrence ~500,000 km²

Diet

Mainly frugivorous (favors wild avocados/laurels, ~41-43 fruit species); also takes insects, small frogs, lizards, and snails, with chicks fed more insect protein

Size

0.38 m