Male Resplendent Quetzal Checking for Predators from a Mossy Perch

Seen from behind, the male checks the surrounding forest for predators before carrying a berry toward the nest, his two long coverts separated into blue-green ribbons at Paraiso Quetzal Lodge area 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. This nesting pair was caring for two chicks that had hatched two days before the visit, photographed from a fixed viewing platform about 30 metres away. The exposure of 1/1600 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 5000 renders the stationary bird and fine plumage detail sharply against the softly separated background; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.