A bird who stands resplendent in his suit of shimmering emerald, wearing a golden crown atop his head and a bright red belly below.

Meet the Golden Headed Quetzal

Photo Courtesy of ryanacandee/CC BY 2.0

The golden-headed quetzal or corequenque (Pharomachrus auriceps) measure between 13 – 14.2 inches (33 – 36 cm) in length, including their tail feathers. Their wingspan is from 12 – 14.2 inches (30 – 36 cm), and they weigh somewhere between 5.4 – 6.4 oz (154 – 182 g). Adult males iridescent green with a golden cast to their heads, bright red bellies, and yellow bill.

Photo Courtesy of Joao Quenta/CC BY 2.0

Females are distinguished from their male counterparts by having a dusky head, dusky bill, and grey flecks on their breast.

Both males and females have a black underside on their tails.

This bird is a resident species found in moist mid-elevation forests from eastern Panama to northern Bolivia.

Golden-headed quetzal prefers to live in humid highland forests.

Being omnivorous birds, golden-headed quetzal dines on fruit, ants, and frogs. However, the main part of their diet is based on avocados and the fruit from the laurel tree.

During the breeding season, these birds all lay 1 to 2 eggs and incubate them for 18 days. Both the male and female will take turns sitting on the nest. Both parents also take turns feeding the chicks who will in turn leave the nest after about 20 days.

This species has a very large range and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion set by the IUCN.

Photo Courtesy of Don Faulkner/CC BY-SA 2.0

You can watch this bird right here in the video below: