"So much of who we are is where we have been." COSTA RICA
EXPEDITIONS Photo by guest Mark Kilian Feb 2007 "Quetzal" is
derived from the Aztec words for bird feathers, precious and
beautiful. The size of a small, pigeon-like bird, the male owns
an amazing meter-long tail along with a short head crest, and
red breast. Although the female is duller in color and with no
tail plumes, both sexes head, back and wings are emerald green.
This allows the bird to blend with the foliage of the cloud
forest where it lives. The Quetzal lives at elevations as low as
1,300m and as high as 3,000m in Costa Rica's cloud forests. Its
diet consists mainly of wild figs, avocados, insects, small
frogs and lizards. Drinking water is obtained from the base of
bromeliads. When the bird detects an intruder, it will sit
motionless for long periods of time. When further threatened, it
will let out an alarm cry, that is a harsh weec-weec sound
accompanied by quickly flicking its tail feathers like a fan
every second. During courtship, the