Quetzals – the Holy Grail for birders in Costa Rica

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In all my many years traveling to Costa Rica, I'd never seen a quetzal in the wild. Then again, I'd never specifically found time for a quetzal-birding trip. Until now.

The resplendent quetzal—one of six quetzal species in the trogon family, and the only one present in Costa Rica—is considered the Holy Grail for birders in Central America. For everyone else, it's also perhaps the most thrilling bird to be seen. Why? Well, one encounter and you'll understand why.

This pigeon-sized bird's shimmering green feathers are almost impossibly iridescent. Set against a blood red chest, the Christmas combo is truly stunning! Add to that the male's fuzzy Mohawk punk hairdo, beady black eyes, ridiculously tiny yellow beak, wing feathers fringed as if by Vidal Sassoon, and—the coup de grace!—twin tail feathers twice as long as its body. It's a package guaranteed to stun even the most jaded and cynical viewer.

The male puts its streamer tail to good use in spring breeding season, when it engages in soar-and-dive swooping displays intended to dazzle, or at least tickle the fancy of, a potential mate as it performs with its sinuous feather boas trailing behind.

Resplendent quetzals are particularly fond of wild avocados (swallowed whole) and other fruits of the laurel family, but they mix up their diet with caterpillars and other insects.

These cloud-forest denizens are easily seen throughout Costa Rica at elevations between about 3,000 and 6,000 feet. The quest to spot a quetzal is a major reason many people choose to visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. True, your chances of spotting one there are very good. But there are other, lesser known, yet far better venues.

I had my lucky break at San Gerardo de Dota, to my mind the premier quetzal-viewing destination in Costa Rica. This Shangri-La vale at the headwaters of the Savegre river is for good reason the setting for the Quetzal Education Research Center, at the lovely Savegre Mountain Hotel & Spa.

"Ssshhhhhhhh!" I saw my guide ahead, in the road, motioning for me to hurry, but quietly.

As I hustled toward him, I saw a green flash to my left. A quetzal flew by, almost within fingertip distance.

It was 6am, just after dawn. and the beginning of a morning of awe. I lingered an entire hour, photographing a mature male as it perched on a branch, only 15 feet away, guarding a nest in the hole of a rotting moss-festooned tree. Later, as Andres Pruna and I filmed an interview with Savegre pioneer Don Efraín Chacón, who arrived here in 1954, quetzals flew back and forth on a kind of resplendent quetzal highway.

In an instant, I understood why the quetzal was venerated by pre-Columbian people. Remember Quetzalcoatl, the feathered-serpent creator god of the Aztecs? Mesoamerican rulers wore headdresses made from quetzal feathers. It is still considered so valuable that it is the name of Guatemala's currency.

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Disclosure: I occasionally accept free or discounted travel when it coincides with my editorial goals. However, my opinion is never for sale. The opinions you see in Cuba & Costa Rica Journal are my unbiased reflection of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Copyright © Christopher P. Baker