Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Aves

Resplendant Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno

The Resplendent Quetzal of Central America is truly amazing. Natives have used its three-foot-long emerald tail feathers for elaborate head dresses worn by tribal chiefs. The quetzal eats 43 different species of fruit. It has adapted enormous chest muscles that enable it to hover in front of these different plants while eating their fruit. The wild avocado is a favorite food of the colorful quetzal. There are so few of these birds left in the rainforest that they are considered an endangered species.

~A Walk in the Rainforest © 1992