Resplendent Quetzal

Pharomachrus mocinno

The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a bird found in Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. Misty cloud forests of Mexico and Central America. It eats fruit, insects and other small invertebrates and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened.

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Scientific name	Pharomachrus mocinno
Region	North America
Found in	Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras

🏡 Where the Resplendent Quetzal lives

Misty cloud forests of Mexico and Central America.

🍽️ What it eats

🍎 Fruit70%
🐛 Insects & bugs20%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Near ThreatenedNot in danger yet, but it could be soon.

💡 Ancient Maya prized its tail feathers, which can be a metre long.

Hear the Resplendent Quetzal

Recorded by Paul Driver (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC774050. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Resplendent Quetzal

Where does the Resplendent Quetzal live?

The Resplendent Quetzal lives in Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. Misty cloud forests of Mexico and Central America.

What does the Resplendent Quetzal eat?

fruit (about 70%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Resplendent Quetzal endangered?

Not in danger yet, but it could be soon. Its IUCN Red List category is Near Threatened.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.