Quetzal

Resplendent Quetzal

The '''Resplendent Quetzal''' is found in southern Mexico and in Central America. There are two subspecies, ''Pharomachrus mocinno mocinno'' and ''P. mocinno costaricensis'', the Costa Rican Resplendent Quetzal. This quetzal plays an important role in Mesoamerican myth. Resplendent Quetzals are striking birds, with a green body (showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet) and red breast. They possess green upper tail coverts that hide their tails and in breeding males are particularly splendid, being longer than the rest of the body. The wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. Baby Resplendent Quetzals feature vestigial claws (like archæopteryx and pterosaurs) on the "wrist". These claws are lost as the bird matures. The "song" is a treble syllable described as ''kyow'', etc., often in pairs, which may be repeated monotonously. Quetzals have other unmusical calls as well. They have a mixed diet, consuming, for example, insects, fruit (especially of the Lauraceae|laurel family), and frogs. Their habitat is mountain forests. The quetzals lay two pale blue eggs in a tree hole nest. The bird plays a prominent role in the region's Pre-Columbian mythology and in modern legend. Ancient MesoAmerica|Mesoamerican kings and high priests wore headdresses of quetzal feathers. In several Mesoamerican languages, the term for ''quetzal'' can also mean ''precious'', ''sacred'' or ''erected''. Until recently, it was thought that the Resplendent Quetzal could not be bred or held for any long time in captivity, and indeed it was noted for usually dying soon after being captured or caged. For this reason it is a traditional symbol of freedom|liberty. (However, a zoo in Mexico has kept this species since 1992, and in 2004 successful breeding in captivity was announced ) The Resplendent Quetzal is Guatemala's national bird, and an image of it is on the flag and the national seal of that country. One Guatemalan legend claims that the quetzal used to sing beautifully before the Spanish conquest, but has been silent ever since—but will sing once again when the land is truly free.

Etymology

The name "quetzal" is from Nahuatl ''quetzalli'', "large brilliant tail feather" (''American Heritage Dictionary'') or "tail coverts of the quetzal" (''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary''). ''Pharomachrus'' is from ancient Greek ''pharos'', "mantle", and ''makros'', "long". (The second ''h'' is unexplained.) The epithet ''mocinno'' is de la Llave's Latinization of the name of the Spain|Spanish biologist J. M. Mociño (d. 1820), a mentor of his. (It's sometimes spelled ''mocino'', but the ñ was formerly spelled ''nn'' in Spanish, so the spelling with ''nn'' is justified and in any case now official.http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v076n01/p0108-p0108.html http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/frame.html/sup>)

See also

Quetzalcoatl

Quetzaltenango

References

(A Resplendent Quetzal chick hatched at the Miguel Álvarez del Toro Zoo, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico, and reached the age of six weeks at the time of the report. A short excerpt is visible on http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=Zoomat+Pharomachrus+captivity&btnG=Search)

External links

http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/index.html For images of four quetzal species, select "Trogons".

http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041213/full/041213-5.html 2004, Nature: Mystery of 'chirping' pyramid decoded] Discussion of a theory that a Mayan pyramid makes echoes of handclaps that resemble quetzal vocalizations.

http://www.ocasa.org/MayanPyramid.htm with http://www.ocasa.org/MayanSounds/shrtquetz59mon.wavand of http://www.ocasa.org/MayanSounds/qqcaca.wav