Post by Montezuma on Oct 23, 2024 8:41:48 GMT -5
Indeed one of nature's most beautiful bird species and one of mine favourite. It is well known for its colours and long feather tail. The word quetzal is comes from the indigenous Mexican word meaning 'precious or sacred'. The resplendent Quetzal is the national bird of modern day Guatemala.
Introduction
Quetzals (/kɛtˈsɑːl, ˈkɛtsəl/) are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared quetzal, Euptilotis neoxenus, is found in Guatemala, sometimes in Mexico and very locally in the southernmost United States.[1] In the highlands of the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Jalisco, and Michoacán, the eared quetzal can be found from northwest to west-central Mexico. It is a Mesoamerican indigenous species, but some reports show that it occasionally travels and nests in southeastern Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. June to October is the mating season for eared quetzals.[2] Quetzals are fairly large (all over 32 cm (13 in) long), slightly bigger than other trogon species.[3][4] The resplendent quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala because of its vibrant colour and cultural significance to the Maya.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzal
Introduction
The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a small bird found in Central America and southern Mexico that lives in tropical forests, particularly montane cloud forests. They are part of the family Trogonidae and have two recognized subspecies, P. m. mocinno and P. m. costaricensis. Like other quetzals, the resplendent is mostly omnivorous; its diet mainly consists of fruits of plants in the laurel family, Lauraceae, but it occasionally also preys on insects, lizards, frogs and snails.
The name of the genus, Pharomachrus, refers to the physical characteristics of the bird, with pharos meaning 'mantle' and makros meaning 'long' in Ancient Greek.[10] The word 'quetzal' came from Nahuatl (Aztec), where quetzalli (from the root quetza, meaning 'stand') means 'tall upstanding plume' and then 'quetzal tail feather'; from that, Nahuatl quetzaltotōtl means 'quetzal-feather bird' and thus 'quetzal'.
Behaviour
Resplendent quetzals generally display shy and quiet behaviour to elude predators.[21] In contrast, they are rather vocal during the mating season and their behavior is designated to exhibit and attract mates. Their known predators include the ornate hawk-eagle, golden eagle, and other hawks and owls as adults, along with emerald toucanets, brown jays, long-tailed weasels, squirrels, and kinkajous as nestlings or eggs.[21][22] The resplendent quetzal plays an important ecological role in the cloud forests, helping disseminate the seeds of at least 32 tree species.
Feeding
Resplendent quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, feeding on 41 to 43 species, although they also feed on insects (primarily wasps, ants, and larvae), frogs, lizards, and snails.[1][23] Particularly important are the Symplococarpon purpusii and wild avocados, as well as other fruits of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits, which helps to disperse these trees.[24] Quetzals feed more frequently in the midday hours.[24] The adults eat a more fruit-based diet than the chicks, who eat insects primarily and some fruits.[24] Over fifty percent of the fruit they eat are laurels.[25] Quetzals use the methods of "hovering" and "stalling" in order to selectively pick the fruit from near the tips of the branches.[24]
In Culture
The resplendent quetzal is of great importance to Guatemalan culture, being present in various legends and myths. It was considered divine and associated with Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent and god of life, light, knowledge and the winds, by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations.[21] Its scintillating green tail feathers, symbolizes spring plant sprout, were venerated by the Aztec and Maya.[31] The Maya also regarded the quetzal as representative of freedom and wealth on account of quetzals dying in captivity and the worth of their feathers along with jade, correspondingly.[35] Mesoamerican rulers and some high ranked nobles wore diadems created from quetzal feathers, symbolically linking them to Quetzalcoatl.[33] Since the killing of quetzals was forbidden under the Mayas and Aztec criminal law, the bird was merely seized, its prolonged tail feathers deplumed, and was set loose.[21] In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal feathers were considered so precious that they were even used as a medium of exchange.[21] Thus the name of the Guatemala currency, the quetzal.[36] In various Mesoamerican languages, the word quetzal can as well mean precious, sacred, or king, warrior, prince.[37]
Introduction
Quetzals (/kɛtˈsɑːl, ˈkɛtsəl/) are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared quetzal, Euptilotis neoxenus, is found in Guatemala, sometimes in Mexico and very locally in the southernmost United States.[1] In the highlands of the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Jalisco, and Michoacán, the eared quetzal can be found from northwest to west-central Mexico. It is a Mesoamerican indigenous species, but some reports show that it occasionally travels and nests in southeastern Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. June to October is the mating season for eared quetzals.[2] Quetzals are fairly large (all over 32 cm (13 in) long), slightly bigger than other trogon species.[3][4] The resplendent quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala because of its vibrant colour and cultural significance to the Maya.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzal
Introduction
The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a small bird found in Central America and southern Mexico that lives in tropical forests, particularly montane cloud forests. They are part of the family Trogonidae and have two recognized subspecies, P. m. mocinno and P. m. costaricensis. Like other quetzals, the resplendent is mostly omnivorous; its diet mainly consists of fruits of plants in the laurel family, Lauraceae, but it occasionally also preys on insects, lizards, frogs and snails.
The name of the genus, Pharomachrus, refers to the physical characteristics of the bird, with pharos meaning 'mantle' and makros meaning 'long' in Ancient Greek.[10] The word 'quetzal' came from Nahuatl (Aztec), where quetzalli (from the root quetza, meaning 'stand') means 'tall upstanding plume' and then 'quetzal tail feather'; from that, Nahuatl quetzaltotōtl means 'quetzal-feather bird' and thus 'quetzal'.
Behaviour
Resplendent quetzals generally display shy and quiet behaviour to elude predators.[21] In contrast, they are rather vocal during the mating season and their behavior is designated to exhibit and attract mates. Their known predators include the ornate hawk-eagle, golden eagle, and other hawks and owls as adults, along with emerald toucanets, brown jays, long-tailed weasels, squirrels, and kinkajous as nestlings or eggs.[21][22] The resplendent quetzal plays an important ecological role in the cloud forests, helping disseminate the seeds of at least 32 tree species.
Feeding
Resplendent quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, feeding on 41 to 43 species, although they also feed on insects (primarily wasps, ants, and larvae), frogs, lizards, and snails.[1][23] Particularly important are the Symplococarpon purpusii and wild avocados, as well as other fruits of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits, which helps to disperse these trees.[24] Quetzals feed more frequently in the midday hours.[24] The adults eat a more fruit-based diet than the chicks, who eat insects primarily and some fruits.[24] Over fifty percent of the fruit they eat are laurels.[25] Quetzals use the methods of "hovering" and "stalling" in order to selectively pick the fruit from near the tips of the branches.[24]
In Culture
The resplendent quetzal is of great importance to Guatemalan culture, being present in various legends and myths. It was considered divine and associated with Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent and god of life, light, knowledge and the winds, by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations.[21] Its scintillating green tail feathers, symbolizes spring plant sprout, were venerated by the Aztec and Maya.[31] The Maya also regarded the quetzal as representative of freedom and wealth on account of quetzals dying in captivity and the worth of their feathers along with jade, correspondingly.[35] Mesoamerican rulers and some high ranked nobles wore diadems created from quetzal feathers, symbolically linking them to Quetzalcoatl.[33] Since the killing of quetzals was forbidden under the Mayas and Aztec criminal law, the bird was merely seized, its prolonged tail feathers deplumed, and was set loose.[21] In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal feathers were considered so precious that they were even used as a medium of exchange.[21] Thus the name of the Guatemala currency, the quetzal.[36] In various Mesoamerican languages, the word quetzal can as well mean precious, sacred, or king, warrior, prince.[37]
One Mayan legend has it that a resplendent quetzal accompanied the hero, Tecún Umán, prince of the Quiché (K'iche') Maya, during his battle against Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado. Tecún, equipped with just an arrow and bow, nevertheless is able to incapacitate Alvarado's horse on the first strike. Alvarado was then given a second horse and counter-charged against Tecún, running his chest through with a spear. A quetzal flew down and alighted on Tecún's body, drenching its chest in his blood. It was then that the species, which used to be completely green, obtained its characteristic red chest feathers. Additionally, from that day on, the quetzal, which sang delightfully before the Spanish conquest, has been mute ever since; it will sing anew solely when the land is fully liberated.[15][38]
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resplendent_quetzal
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resplendent_quetzal
