Quetzal

For the best-known species in this group, see Resplendent quetzal. For other uses, see Quetzal (disambiguation).

Quetzals (/kɛtsˈɑːl/ or /ˈkɛtsəl/) are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family.

They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is found in Mexico and very locally in southern United States.[1] They are fairly large (all over 32 cm or 13 inches long), slightly bigger than other trogon species.[2][3]

Quetzals have iridescent green or golden-green wing coverts, back, chest and head, with a red belly. They are strongly sexually dimorphic, and parts of the females' plumage are brown or grey. These largely solitary birds feed on fruits, berries, insects and small vertebrates (such as frogs).[2][3] Even with their famous bright plumage, they can be hard to see in their natural wooded habitats.

Conservation status

None of the many quetzal species are under immediate threat in the wild, although the eared and resplendent quetzal are at the Near Threatened status.[4] The remaining are not considered threatened by the IUCN and all are locally common.[2][3]

Etymology

The name "quetzal" is from Nahuatl quetzalli [keˈt͡salːi], "large brilliant tail feather" (American Audubon Dictionary) or "tail coverts of the quetzal" (Merriam–Webster's Collegiate Dictionary), from the Nahuatl root quetz = "stand up" used to refer to an upstanding plume of feathers. The word entered English through Spanish.

The word "quetzal" was originally used for just the resplendent quetzal, the long-tailed quetzal of southern Mexico and Central America, which is the national bird and the name of the currency of Guatemala. It still often refers to that bird specifically but now also names all the species of the genera Pharomachrus and Euptilotis.

Pharomachrus is from Ancient Greek pharos, "mantle", and makros, "long", referring to the wing and tail coverts of the resplendent quetzal (the second h is unexplained).

Species

Euptilotis neoxenus is related to Pharomachrus and is called the eared quetzal by some authorities, such as the American Ornithologists' Union, but the eared trogon by others.

See also

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Euptilotis neoxenus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Restall, R. L., C. Rodner, & M. Lentino (2006). Birds of Northern South America. Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7243-9 (vol. 1). ISBN 0-7136-7242-0 (vol. 2).
  3. 1 2 3 Ridgely, R. S., & J. A. Gwynne, Jr. (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08529-3
  4. ↑ BirdLife International (2008). "Pharomachrus mocinno". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
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