Hiking through a Costa Rican cloud forest, you may
look up and see an incredible looking bird winging its way through the
sky. With its shimmering emerald green body, red belly, and blue back,
the bird does not look real. Adding to this effect is his long flowing
blue and green tail, twice as long as his 15 inch body. Truly, the Resplendent
Quetzal is one of the most beautiful birds in the world.
To the Aztecs and Mayas, the quetzal was their most sacred symbol. Its
name was derived from quetzalli, an early Aztec word for the bird's beautiful
tail feathers. The quetzal was a symbol of both freedom and wealth. Freedom,
because a quetzal was believed to die in captivity, and wealth, because
the Mayas were traders, and quetzal feathers along with jade were their
most sought after treasures. They traded the feathers as far north as
the central valley of Mexico and as far south as the Empire of the Incas.
Only the priests were allowed to wear the feathers of the quetzal. It
is said that the feathers were only taken from living birds which were
then released to grow new feathers.
A Mayan legend describes how the bird got its crimson breast. When the
Mayan chieftain Tecun Uman fell in battle, mortally wounded by the Spanish
conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, a gold-and-green quetzal landed on his
chest. As the chieftain died, the bird flew off, its breast forever stained
with the blood of the Mayan.
During most of the year the quetzals are solitary birds. During breeding
season, between March and June, they mate and produce two blue eggs.
Both the male and female take turns at incubating the eggs. They feed
by darting out of their nests to pluck fruit, insects and occasionally
a lizard or frog from the forest canopy.
Originally endangered by local hunters seeking its feathers for religious
ceremonies, the quetzal is now threatened by the destruction of its habitat
and the demand for its live export.
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