Male Resplendent Quetzal Continuing Takeoff Toward the Nest

The male moves head-first beyond the intermediate perch with a dark berry in his bill, wings partly folded and twin green coverts curling after him 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/4 and ISO 5000 holds the flight posture and major feather groups sharply while leaving restrained motion in the quickest wing tips; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.