Resplendent Quetzal Bird with Berry, Costa Rica
I travelled to Costa Rica specifically to try to capture the Quetzal bird in flight and spent five 8 hour days capturing the image of the male and female birds. What an amazing experience. They were feeding their newly born Chicks and they both took really good care of them.
The Quetzal, symbol of freedom, emblem of Guatemala and undisputed star of Latin American birds, is on the verge of extinction. It is on the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN, the world authority on the protection of the natural environment. Logging, livestock farming and the illegal trade in feathers destroy the natural habitat of the pharomachrus mocinno. How does Costa Rica protect the resplendent quetzal from extinction? Cloud forests and canopy welcome and nourish it. Concrete observation and nesting programs support this favourable but insufficient environment.
Resplendent Quetzals are startling emerald jewels of the cloud forest. They shimmer from one shade to another, blending almost magically with the wet green background of their constantly misty high altitude homes.
Their colour seems ephemeral for a reason; quetzals are not green at all. It’s hard to believe, but quetzals are actually brown.
They are coloured by melanin, the same pigment that causes tanning in humans. Highly magnified, quetzal feathers are alternately translucent and dark brown. The magic comes from melanin pigment stripes regularly spaced 5,400 angstroms apart causing interference that “traps” most colours of light but reflects green light, which bounces back to your eye.
Thank you for your views, comments and faves. Much appreciated.
This image is © Copyright and no permission is granted in any form, fashion or way, digital or otherwise, to use copy, edit, reproduce, publish, duplicate, or distribute my images or any part of them on blogs, personal or professional websites or any other media without my direct written permission.
Resplendent Quetzal Bird with Berry, Costa Rica
I travelled to Costa Rica specifically to try to capture the Quetzal bird in flight and spent five 8 hour days capturing the image of the male and female birds. What an amazing experience. They were feeding their newly born Chicks and they both took really good care of them.
The Quetzal, symbol of freedom, emblem of Guatemala and undisputed star of Latin American birds, is on the verge of extinction. It is on the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN, the world authority on the protection of the natural environment. Logging, livestock farming and the illegal trade in feathers destroy the natural habitat of the pharomachrus mocinno. How does Costa Rica protect the resplendent quetzal from extinction? Cloud forests and canopy welcome and nourish it. Concrete observation and nesting programs support this favourable but insufficient environment.
Resplendent Quetzals are startling emerald jewels of the cloud forest. They shimmer from one shade to another, blending almost magically with the wet green background of their constantly misty high altitude homes.
Their colour seems ephemeral for a reason; quetzals are not green at all. It’s hard to believe, but quetzals are actually brown.
They are coloured by melanin, the same pigment that causes tanning in humans. Highly magnified, quetzal feathers are alternately translucent and dark brown. The magic comes from melanin pigment stripes regularly spaced 5,400 angstroms apart causing interference that “traps” most colours of light but reflects green light, which bounces back to your eye.
Thank you for your views, comments and faves. Much appreciated.
This image is © Copyright and no permission is granted in any form, fashion or way, digital or otherwise, to use copy, edit, reproduce, publish, duplicate, or distribute my images or any part of them on blogs, personal or professional websites or any other media without my direct written permission.