Male Resplendent Quetzal Carrying a Berry Toward the Nest Tree

The male continues from the intermediate perch toward the nest tree with wings lifted, red belly visible and paired coverts bending into a long green wave 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.