Search for the Resplendent Quetzal

By Lucy

  I wake to the steady drip, drip, drip, of coffee splashing out of the coffee maker and into the waiting mug. It is 4:30 am and I quickly remember why on earth I would be awake so early. Today, we are getting up today to go search for the Resplendent Quetzal who is named for its stunning plumage and blue/green iridescence. Mom comes out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and I pretend to be asleep, but Dottie mentions me and I can’t stop smiling, my cover is blown. I crawl out of bed. Mom and Papa are already dressed but Dottie and I remain in pajamas.

  When you’re going to Costa Rica you think of warm weather, so you bring shorts and t-shirts. So, when it’s 4:30 and you are supposed to wear warm clothes you don’t have much to wear. I decide on a pair of warm floppy pants with river pants on top, a t-shirt, a thick sweat shirt, and a coat. Mom lets me borrow a hat that I immediately take off in the warm lodge. We head out and meet our guide Alex by the road and hop into the van, the ride up the road is in silence. We park in a small lot and work our way up the road a little bit farther until we reach some stairs. We  head up the stairs and end up surrounded by around 70 people, Alex says “They are all waiting for the quetzal.”  Which surprises me, do all of these people have guides like Alex? Or do they  stumble upon a good birding spot and start there? He shows us where the Quetzal usually perches.

  We wait, and wait, and wait, we get hungry then wait some more. Finally Alex calls us over and he excitedly sets up the scope on a bird I cannot see with my bare eyes. When I look into the scope there, in the trees sits the bird I have drawn, admired, and daydreamed about: the Resplendent Quetzal. I shuffle sideways so Dottie can see the bird. It eventually flies away so Dottie and I go back to waiting and messing around. We wait a little bit longer just to find the female Quetzal perching on the one branch Alex pointed out. The female looks a lot more like a Collared Trogon (another bird we saw) than the bizarre-looking male. I get some pictures but none are very good. Dottie tells me something about aperture then Papa tells me to “enjoy the moment” and to “not worry about the camera.” Even though I still secretly want to fix the camera, I follow his words of wisdom. The male comes in one more time before disappearing back into the jungle. Alex mentions going to breakfast and I am overjoyed to leave and eat. Seeing the quetzal was a once in a lifetime experience, absolutely worth getting up early. 

Classification of the Resplendent Quetzal

• Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
• Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrates)
• Class: Aves (Birds)
• Order: Trogoniformes (Trogons)
• Family: Trogonidae (Trogons)
• Genus: Pharomachrus (Quetzals)
• Species: Pharomachrus mocinno (Resplendent Quetzal)

Diet of the Resplendent Quetzal 

• Fruits (Main): Wild avocados (Lauraceae family.) 
• Insects: Wasps, ants, beetle grubs, and caterpillars.
• Small Vertebrates: Lizards, frogs, and snails.

Habitat of the Resplendent Quetzal 

•  Montane cloud forests of Central America.
•  Southern Mexico to western Panama.