resplendent quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, although they mix their diet with insects (notably wasps, ants, and larvae), frogs and lizards. particularly important are wild avocados and other fruit of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits, which helps to disperse these trees. quetzals feed more frequently in the midday hours. the adults eat a more fruit-based diet than the chicks, who eat primarily insects and some fruits. over fifty percent of the fruit they eat come from the family lauraceae. quetzals use the methods of "hovering" and "stalling" in order to selectively pick the fruit near the tips of the branches.