A green like no other
MORE has been written about man’s relationship with the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) than about its habits or behaviour. Arguably, this is the most beautiful bird in tropical America. Worshipped by both the Aztecs and the Maya, it symbolised freedom and beauty. Catching or hunting it was punishable by death. Feathers were only worn by aristocrats and were used for ceremonial costumes such as large head-dresses, which usually consisted of hundreds of feathers plucked from trapped quetzals. These were promptly released.
Resplendent quetzals still loom large in the mythology of the seven countries they inhabit, from Mexico south to western Panama. In Guatemala, the national bird adorns the national flag. It gives its name to the Guatemalan
