Photo by Sarah Hadley

Species of the day –– Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)

Resplendent is defined as being – “Attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous”. If there ever was a bird that deserves this title then this is it. Quetzals are related to trogons. They eat fruits such as avocado (not as big as the ones we eat). The males try to rip off each other’s long trailing tail plumes during contests over mates. We saw these at Las Tablas in the Amistad reserve higher up in the mountains from where we work.