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I'd like to see the resplendent quetzal? (Pharomachrus mocinno)
Have you seen the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)?
I have now
Yes, in photos/videos
Yes, irl
I'm not sure
The first photo is of a male, the second is of a female.
QUETZALS / 2024
Taxonomy Tournament: Birds
Trogoniformes. This order is made up of trogons and quetzals, colourful and reclusive tropical birds
Piciformes. This order is made up of woodpeckers, which bore holes in trees to reach insect prey within.
Which clade of animals is better?
Trogoniformes
Piciformes
Show results
Happy Feathursday!
Resplendent quetzals (Pharomachrus mocinno) are the emerald jewels of the Central American forests. Often considered one of the most beautiful birds in the world, these iridescent bright green quetzals were revered in Aztec and Mayan cultures. They are the national animal of Guatemala, and a male with its iconic tail feathers appears on the Guatemalan flag.
SciArt by John Gould and William Hart for Gould's Monograph of the Trogonidae, or Family of Trogons, Pt. 3 (1875). View more in the Biodiversity Heritage Library with thanks to the Ernst Mayr Library of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for digitizing.
From The Rain Forest, 1990. Illustrated by Bob Masheris.
Uncharismatic Fact of the Day
Don’t believe you eyes-- this bird is actually brown! The resplendent quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, has a very unique up its feathers that give it its shimmering green appearance. Up close, the feathers are translucent or dark brown. Inter spaced with these are microscopic stripes of melanin, a pigment that in humans causes the skin to darken. For the quetzal this pigment traps light and reflects the color green, making it appear to our eyes as a resplendent emerald.
(Image: A male resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) showing off his feathers by Kathy Adams Clark)
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BOTD: Eared Quetzal
Photo: Tom Mills
"Long regarded as a rare and elusive specialty of the Mexican mountains, this big trogon stunned birders by appearing north of the border in 1977, with a family group in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains. Since then it has occurred several more times in Arizona, in at least four ranges, and has been found nesting. Only a distant relative of the Elegant Trogon, this species is more closely related to the quetzals of the deep tropics."
- Audubon Field Guide
Quetzals by N Kayurova
"-I've never seen enemies, only red sun and fog haunt us. -Maybe, we are looking in the wrong way."
