Stats

Lifespan: 10-20 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Omnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Pair
Biome: Tropical cloud forest
Range: Central America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Near Threatened

About

The Resplendent Quetzal carries tail feathers up to one metre long that shift between emerald and turquoise as light strikes their iridescent barbules — a spectacle so revered that it became a symbol of liberty for the ancient Maya. Males feed almost exclusively on wild avocados, swallowing the fruit whole and later regurgitating the pit.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
2.
hatchling
A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Trogoniformes
Family: Trogonidae
Genus: Pharomachrus
Species: Pharomachrus mocinno