Male Resplendent Quetzal Looking Directly at the Camera

The quetzal looks directly toward the camera from his mossy perch, his rounded crest, yellow bill and layered emerald wing coverts framed by blue-green forest light at San Gerardo de Dota valley in Costa Rica. The Resplendent Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala and an enduring Mesoamerican cultural emblem; adult males carry elongated upper-tail coverts over the true tail. The exposure of 1/20 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 640 renders the stationary bird and fine plumage detail sharply against the softly separated background; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.