Animal Facts - El Quetzal
Written by Marina K. Villatoro   
Saturday, 05 June 2010 07:36
Who are they? Quetzals are beautiful and exotic birds known for their bright colors and long tails. It is considered one of the world's most beautiful birds.
by MarinaK.Villatoro


Who are they? Quetzals are beautiful and exotic birds known for their bright colors and long tails. It is considered one of the world's most beautiful birds.

Color: The male is unmistakable. Its feathers are from a vibrant green with its distinctive long tail feathers. There is also their scarlet belly and the white lower tail surface. Female on the other hand has darker green fathers and a red belly,

Food: Quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, but they also like to mix their diet with insects and small frogs.

Growth: Males can be a meter long and can weigh up to half pound because of their tales. The body itself measures only 38 to 40.5 cm, the tail on the other hand can be 61 cm.

Age: Quetzal can't live in captivity, they get depressed and die. That's why no one has been able to study how long they can live.

Habits: Studies have shown that Quetzals like to spend their days sitting on the forest canopy feeding themselves. Generally they live groups of 4 or 6 individuals or in couples.

Kids: Females can only have two eggs at once, these eggs are blue and measure 3 centimeters. Male and female take turns incubating the eggs. The time it takes them to come out of the shell is 17 to 18 days. Young quetzals can fly at about three weeks of age, but males do not begin to grow their long tail plumes for three years.

Mating: During mating season, male quetzals grow twin tail feathers that can grow up to one meter long. Females do not have long tails, but they do share the brilliant green and red coloring of their mates. The reproductive time is between March and June.

Importance: There are six different kinds of Quetzals in the world and they are all endangered. These beautiful exotic birds because of all the illegal hunting and the destruction of their habitat are in the list of to be extinct animals.

Quick Fact: A Guatemalan legend says that when the Spaniards came there was a horrible fight between them and the Quiches (ancient town of Mayan natives), once it was over many quetzals landed on dead Mayan's bodies, where they got stained in their blood and that's where they got their red chests from.

Where can they be found? They need to live in a tropical forest. They can be found in small areas from Chiapas, Mexico to Panama.

Information:

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America - Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She's traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!