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Resplendent quetzal male

Pharomachrus mocinno

Description:

We had to wait for three days of daily visits and long waiting hours before we could get these beautiful spotting of the male from the couple nesting in the area of Paraiso Quetzal. Although both males and females are similar in size (36-40 cm) the male has a more green body showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet and a red breast. Their green upper tail coverts hide his tail and in breeding males is particularly longer than the body. The primary wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. The male has a helmet-like crest. The bill, which is partly covered by green filamentous feathers, is yellow in mature males and black in females.

Habitat:

Paraiso Quetzal nesting spot. Forested area next to grassland.

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20 Comments

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

@armadeus.4: as in you comment for the previous female spotting I also thank you here for your appreciation and nice comments. Yes, only the male has this very long green tail. I guess some people does not know because in the close ups you cannot show their tail, which is like 2-3 times the length of their bodies. This is why later I showed another close up of the male because I had to choose between showing only his body (closer) or the whole animal with tail (less close pictures). And yes, they are lovely, aren´t they? :-)

armadeus.4
armadeus.4 9 years ago

Incredible series Marta! I didn't know Quetzals had long tails until the second photo. And in that last photo he looks so cute, like he's trying to ask you if you've finished taking photos. Thank you for sharing :)

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

Many thanks metulippatch and Gilma :-)

metulippatch
metulippatch 9 years ago

Beautiful! Nice shot!

Beautiful!! Marta RubioTexeira.

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

¡Muchas gracias! Yo tambien justo estaba viendo algunos de tus spottings que me gustan. Ahora les voy a dar un Like ;-)

arlanda
arlanda 9 years ago

Impresionante, Marta!

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

Thank you Adarsha and Pieter and the rest :-)

PieterColpaert
PieterColpaert 9 years ago

Beautiful Marta! So nice you could take all those pictures! Such an amazing bird!

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 9 years ago

This "quetzal" family birds are so beautiful :)

Beautiful capture Marta :)

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

@Sigg: Indeed we were very, very lucky a part from being determined and patient. The best chance to see them from up close was by staying close to their nest. But the exchange of partner in the nest happens really quickly, only a few seconds sometimes and then the luck factor plays a role on whether the partner that comes out decides to stay in the branches nearby for a while or not. The day 3 when we made these pics we were alone with the guide and this also plays a factor because in previous days there was lots of people waiting and people makes noise and the birds can hear it so when they come out they directly fly away instead of perching near the nest. So these were the factors that allowed us to make so many pics of these two beautiful couple. For close ups on the male you can visit:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/490...
and for the female:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/494...
I am happy that you appreciate these images as they are from an animal that is quite rare to see from close and to spot in nature. Thanks to the others too :-)

alicelongmartin
alicelongmartin 9 years ago

A real Beauty!

SG in CR
SG in CR 9 years ago

I'd say you got lucky to get such a great shot, but sounds like pure determination was at play. well captured, I hope to see one of these one day.

MarcTe
MarcTe 9 years ago

stunning creatures!!!

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

Thanks Reza, too ;-)

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

Thank you Lauren, it was not easy..we needed three days and long hours of waiting. In the end it paid off :-)

LaurenZarate
LaurenZarate 9 years ago

Wonderful series! Lucky you to see this!

Outstanding !

The MnMs
The MnMs 9 years ago

Many thanks, Nayeli :-)

Nayeli
Nayeli 9 years ago

I like these birds, cute pic!!

The MnMs
Spotted by
The MnMs

San José, San José, Costa Rica

Spotted on Apr 21, 2014
Submitted on Jul 20, 2014

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