The stunning Quetzal bird resides in Costa Rica and other tropical, mountainous forests in Central America and is considered one of the most beautiful birds in the Western Hemisphere.  The males have extraordinarily long tail feathers and resplendent coloring unlike any other bird.

Image via spiderhunters

I’ve been thinking about these magnificent birds ever since having a conversation on Tuesday with some dear friends and Bits & Pieces customers Pam and Don Berns.  They recently took a trip to Costa Rica with their daughter Chelsea (who studies birds in great detail while working on her Ph.D. at Iowa State) and they came across a rare sighting of a male Quetzal who was in the middle of feeding his babies fresh raspberries!! Their bird guide told them that the likelihood of seeing a Quetzal was slim; seeing one feeding babies is even more rare so I can only imagine how momentous this sighting was. Evidently the mother feeds the babies for a few weeks before flying away and leaving the father to feed for the last few days before the young Quetzals are on their own and ready to fly away.  The young birds blend into the tree bark for safety and will develop their bright colorings as they grow older.

image via ppoggio2

The vibrant coloring of this bird is breathtaking, and it is a wonder how this bird can fly gracefully with such extraordinarily long tail feathers, of which the males can grow up to 3 feet long (and they don’t even begin to grow this magnificent plumage until they reach 3 years of age!)

I would love to make a trip to Costa Rica; ever since my sister Emily spent a semester abroad in Costa Rica, I’ve been thinking that it is a paradise that I need to explore.  So, I’m going to practice “Speaking it into existence” and believe that life will lead to a Costa Rican adventure with dear friends and family (yes, that includes you, Emily!) someday in the not too distant future!

image via D.L. Lindsey

research information via National Geographic