Male Resplendent Quetzal Holding a Berry Beside the Nest Entrance

The male clings upright beside the nest entrance with the dark berry still held in his bill, crested head turned outward and the longest coverts disappearing below the frame 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 1/500 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 10000 renders the stationary bird and fine plumage detail sharply against the softly separated background; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.