The Quetzals, the Rare Beauty of Guatemala
The Quetzal is among the worlds considered one of the most beautiful birds. They are located throughout Central America, mostly in Guatemala. It is Guatemala's national bird, and is even in their flag. The Quetzal is classified as Aves. Their scientific name is Pharomachrus Mocinno. The population of the Quetzals have been decreasing over the last few years. The Quetzals also are a big part of the history of Guatemala and its surrondings because it represented wealth and prosperity to the mayas. The Quetzales are considered rare and very beautiful, and I completely agree.
Characteristics of the Quetzal
The Quetzal is a radiant green bird, though it has it chest red. During mating season, the Quetzals grow a big train of feathers that can go up to three feet! The red chest traces back to an old Mayan story passed from generation to generation. The Quetzals use their powerful beaks to eat fruit,insects,lizards,and other small creatures. The Quetzal is an Omnivore which means they eat both plants and meat. They also use there beaks to construct their nests, they lay around 2 to 3 eggs. Young Quetzals can fly 3 weeks after they hatch from the eggs. Unfortunately, these radiant birds are threatened in Guatemala and Central America. Their taxonomy is listed next:
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Trogoniformes
FAMILY: Trogonidae
GENUS: Pharomachrus
SPECIES: Mocinno
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Trogoniformes
FAMILY: Trogonidae
GENUS: Pharomachrus
SPECIES: Mocinno
The Quetzal Legend
The great Guatemalan warrior, Tecun Uman,was fighting, because other people where going to conquer their land. Guatemala did not had technology at that time so since the people from other countries were more developed and they hurt him with their developed weapons. The story goes, they left him laying on the ground. A Quetzal flew off from its branch and landed on Tecun Uman's bloody stomach. That is ourlegend of why the Quetzal has a red chest.
RESOUCES: www.animals.nationalgeographic.com, www.iuncnredlist.org, www.quetzal.in
RESOUCES: www.animals.nationalgeographic.com, www.iuncnredlist.org, www.quetzal.in