Bird Album
Resplendent Quetzal
Pharomachrus mocinno de la Llave, 1832
36 cmLength202 gWeight
In the breeding season, the male has green plumage, a red belly and uppertail-coverts longer than its body.
Busiest months: March · Most records: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama
How to identify
Field marks
- Breeding male has extremely long uppertail-coverts
- Male has a red lower breast and belly
- Male has a helmet-shaped crest
- Mature male has a yellow bill
Male, female and young
Female has darker plumage, a shorter tail and a bronze-green head.
Voice
Song mellow and soft, with syllables including “keow” and “kowee”.
Where and when it's recorded
Resplendent Quetzal has been recorded at 49 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso MonteverdeCosta Rica4,702 records
- Curi-Cancha Refugio de Vida SilvestreCosta Rica3,473 records
- Savegre HotelCosta Rica2,805 records
More places
- San Gerardo de DotaCosta Rica1,758 records
- Paraiso Quetzal Lodge - Km 70Costa Rica1,425 records
- RNP Ranchitos del QuetzalGuatemala1,391 records
- Savegre Mt. Lodge – primary forest trails above lodgeCosta Rica926 records
- Reserva de la Biosfera El Triunfo – Campamento El TriunfoMexico737 records
- MonteverdeCosta Rica720 records
- Mirador Rey TepepulGuatemala674 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
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.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Resplendent Quetzal?
The Resplendent Quetzal is about 36 cm long and weighs around 202 g.
Where does the Resplendent Quetzal live?
Its breeding range: Middle America: southern Mexico to western Panama. It is most often recorded in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama.
When is the best time to see the Resplendent Quetzal?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in March (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Resplendent Quetzal endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Resplendent Quetzal as Near Threatened.
What does the Resplendent Quetzal eat?
Main food: Fruit.
What family is the Resplendent Quetzal in?
It belongs to the family Trogons (Trogonidae), order Trogoniformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 36 cm
- Weight
- 202 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Fruit
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Near Threatened
More measurements
- Wing
- 202 mm
- Tail
- 323 mm
- Bill
- 26 mm
- Tarsus
- 20 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Middle America: southern Mexico to western Panama
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Trogoniformes
- Family
- Trogons Trogonidae
- Genus
- Pharomachrus
Other birds in the genus Pharomachrus
Pavonine QuetzalPharomachrus pavoninus
Golden-headed QuetzalPharomachrus auriceps
White-tipped QuetzalPharomachrus fulgidus
Crested QuetzalPharomachrus antisianus
Narina TrogonApaloderma narina
Bare-cheeked TrogonApaloderma aequatoriale
Bar-tailed TrogonApaloderma vittatum
Javan TrogonApalharpactes reinwardtii
Sumatran TrogonApalharpactes mackloti
Malabar TrogonHarpactes fasciatus
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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Ad Konings. ↗
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