Quetzal 



The quetzal, national bird of Guatemala, is a trogon and is easily the most striking 

 member of this notably colorful family. Many observers consider it the most beautiful 

 of tropical American birds. Certainly few who have seen quetzals in their natural sur- 

 roundings would deny them a place beside the cock-of-the-rock, the bird of paradise, 

 and the regal peacock as jewels of the bird world. 



The mountain forests of Central America are the habitat of this exotic species. Only 

 there, in the moist rain forest of the cloud belt, 3,000-6,000 feet above sea level, can 

 the quetzal be found. It is a region of great beauty and charm. Bromeliads and other 

 epiphytes of infinite variety festoon the branches of trees whose trunks are clothed with 

 moss. Tree ferns are a prominent feature of the rich mountain vegetation. Their fronds 

 wave gently with each vagrant breeze and, when seen dimly through the mists, create 

 an illusion of unreality that is peculiarly appropriate as a background for so striking a 

 bird. 



Quetzals derive their name from Quetzalcoatl, the legendary king and founder of 

 the Aztec culture of Mexico — a civilization that was in full flower at the time of the 

 white man's arrival. Only priests and nobles of native tribes were permitted to wear 

 the long plumes as a personal adornment, since quetzals were venerated as religious 

 symbols. The birds were never killed by the Aztecs, their plumes being plucked from 

 caged specimens otherwise treated with reverence. Later the species was decimated 

 over much of its range as thousands of males fell prey to professional plume-hunters 

 who sought to satisfy the requirements of the millinery trade. This slaughter was 

 stopped by international agreement some years ago and today quetzals occur fairly 

 abundantly in favored localities from southern Mexico to Panama. 



The trogon family is a group of tropical forest dwellers of wide distribution in both 

 the Old World and the New. The male quetzals differ from all other trogons in having 

 the rump adorned with several filmy plumes that extend as much as two and some- 

 times three feet beyond the end of the tail. A prominent crest, compressed laterally, 

 further distinguishes the male, whereas female quetzals are less brightly colored and 

 are lacking in special adornments. Like many other trogons, quetzals feed on the pulp 

 of certain forest fruits, which are plucked from the trees while the birds are on the 

 wing. They may make no nest, depositing two bluish-green eggs in an abandoned 

 woodpecker's hole, or they may excavate a cavity for themselves in rotten wood. 

 Young quetzals are black and naked when hatched and are attended by both parents. 



The specimens in the group were collected on the slopes of the Volcan Tajamulco, 

 by special permission of the Guatemalan Government. The background scene is a 

 composite from the volcano-studded Guatemalan escarpment. 



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