- Latin name: Pharomachrus mocinno
- Unique colorful feature: Metallic green and blue plumage with a red chest
- Where they are found: Central America
- Size: Length: 14 to 16 inches (36 to 40.5 cm); Weight: 6.5 to 8 ounces (180 to 225 g)
- Diet: fruit and insects
Once considered sacred to the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures, resplendent quetzals often accompanied chiefs into battle, and priests wore the birds’ brilliant feathers during important ceremonies.
Today, many people enjoy eco-tours into the cloud forests of Costa Rica for the chance to glimpse one of these beauties which feature vibrant red underparts and iridescent green feathers that can change to blue-violet and greenish-gold depending on sunlight rays.
As the breeding season begins, the male grows a long train of streaming blue-green feathers which he uses to attract a female in elaborate flight displays.
Once the male is accepted, the seasonally monogamous pair will construct a nest in a dead tree cavity and alternately incubate a clutch of two eggs.
