Male Resplendent Quetzal Closing on the Nest Tree with a Caterpillar

The male closes the remaining distance to the trunk with a caterpillar in his bill, feet raised forward and long separated coverts descending almost the full height of 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 1/3200 sec, f/4 and ISO 1600 freezes the decisive body position and separates the principal wing and tail feathers while retaining only fine traces of motion at the fastest edges; the photograph was made in natural light without flash.