The Resplendent Quetzal
The quetzal , Guatemala's national symbol, has a distinguished past but an uncertain future. The feathers of the quetzal were sacred from the earliest of times, and in the strange cult of Quetzalcoatl, whose influence spread throughout Mesoamerica, the quetzal was incorporated into the plumed serpent, a supremely powerful deity. To the Maya the quetzal was so sacred that killing one was a capital offence, and the bird is also thought to have been the nahual , or spiritual protector, of the Maya chiefs. When Tecun Uman faced Alvarado in hand-to-hand combat his headdress sprouted the long green feathers of the quetzal; when the conquistadors founded a city adjacent to the battleground they named it Quetzaltenango , the Place of the Quetzals. In modern Guatemala the quetzal's image permeates the entire country, appearing in every imaginable context, as well as lending its name to the nation's currency. Citizens honoured by the president are awarded the Order of the Quetzal, and the bird is also considered a symbol of freedom, since caged quetzals die from the rigours of confinement. Despite all this, the sweeping tide of deforestation threatens the existence of the bird, and the sanctuary is about the only concrete step that has been taken to save it. The more resplendent of the birds, and the source of the famed feathers, is the male. The heads of males are crowned with a plume of brilliant green, the chest and lower belly is a rich crimson, and trailing behind are the unmistakeable oversized, golden-green tail feathers, though these are only really evident in the mating season. The females, on the other hand, are an unremarkable brownish colour. The birds nest in holes drilled into dead trees, laying one or two eggs at the start of the rainy season, usually in April or May. Quetzals also can be quite easily identified by their strangely jerky, undulating flight
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