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Quetzals are strikingly colored bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s of the trogon
Trogon

The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. They are the only type of animal with a Dactyly#Heterodactyly toe arrangement....
 family (Trogonidae) found in tropical regions of the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
.

The word "quetzal" was originally used for just the Resplendent Quetzal
Resplendent Quetzal

The Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, is a spectacular bird of the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama ....
, Pharomachrus mocinno, the famous long-tailed quetzal of Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, which is the national bird of Guatemala
Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
. It still often refers to that bird specifically but now also names all the species of the genera Pharomachrus and Euptilotis.






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Quetzals are strikingly colored bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s of the trogon
Trogon

The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. They are the only type of animal with a Dactyly#Heterodactyly toe arrangement....
 family (Trogonidae) found in tropical regions of the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
.

The word "quetzal" was originally used for just the Resplendent Quetzal
Resplendent Quetzal

The Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, is a spectacular bird of the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama ....
, Pharomachrus mocinno, the famous long-tailed quetzal of Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, which is the national bird of Guatemala
Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
. It still often refers to that bird specifically but now also names all the species of the genera Pharomachrus and Euptilotis. The six quetzal species and their English common names are:
  • P. antisianus: Crested Quetzal
    Crested Quetzal

    The Crested Quetzal is a species of bird in the Trogonidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests....
  • P. auriceps: Golden-headed Quetzal
    Golden-headed Quetzal

    The Golden-Headed Quetzal is a colorful bird native to highlands forests in South America....
  • P. fulgidus: White-tipped Quetzal
    White-tipped Quetzal

    The White-tipped Quetzal is a species of bird in the Trogonidae family.It is found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Guyana. In Venezuela and Colombia, three separated ranges occur, all contiguous and on the northern coasts....
  • P. mocinno: Resplendent Quetzal
    Resplendent Quetzal

    The Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno, is a spectacular bird of the trogon family. It is found from southern Mexico to western Panama ....
  • P. pavoninus: Pavonine Quetzal
    Pavonine Quetzal

    The Pavonine Quetzal is a species of bird in the Trogonidae family, the trogons. It is found in the Amazon Basin of the North Region, Brazil, Brazil, Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and northern Bolivia; also regions of Venezuela....
  • E. neoxenus: Eared Quetzal
    Eared Quetzal

    The Eared Quetzal , also known as the Eared Trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It breeds in streamside pine-oak forests and canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico south to western Michoac?n....


Euptilotis neoxenus is related to Pharomachrus and is called the Eared Quetzal by some authorities, such as the American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union

The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithology organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birdwatching....
, but the Eared Trogon by others.

Etymology

The name "quetzal" is from Nahuatl quetzalli, "large brilliant tail feather" (American Heritage Dictionary) or "tail coverts of the quetzal" (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary), from the Nahuatl root
Root (linguistics)

The root is the primary lexicology unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantics content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents....
 quetz = "stand up" used to refer to an upstanding plume of feathers.

Pharomachrus is from ancient Greek pharos, "mantle", and makros, "long", referring to the wing and tail coverts of the Resplendent Quetzal. (The second h is unexplained.)

See also

  • Quetzalcoatl
    Quetzalcoatl

    Quetzalcoatl is a benevolent and mythical deity, creator of humanity in the Toltec tradition, predating the Mexica deity. The name is a combination of quetzal, a brightly colored Mesoamerican bird, and wikt:coatl, meaning serpent....
  • List of English words of Nahuatl origin
  • List of Spanish words of Nahuatl origin
    List of Spanish words of Nahuatl origin

    The documented Nahuatl words in the Spanish language includes an extensive list of words that represent animals, plants, fruit and vegetables and foods and beverages and domestic appliances, whose termination includes the suffix "tl"....


External links

  • For images of four quetzal species, select "Trogons".
  • , including quetzals, on the Internet Bird Collection
  • , The Quetzal Description and Habitat