Beautiful Bird
Facts about the World’s Most Beautiful Bird
If you enjoy bird watching or just taking a moment during your day to watch a bird outside your window, you will be interested with this information about the world’s most beautiful bird. Yes, there are thousands of gorgeous birds throughout the world but one in particular has actually been deemed the most beautiful bird because of its body shape and unrivaled colors.
This bird is found in the Costa Rican cloud forest, featuring a body of emerald green, a belly that is red, a back of deep, vibrant blue, and a face so gorgeous that most people find it hard to believe the bird is even real. This beautiful bird is so stunning that it looks more like a masterpiece created by a famous artist than one flying through the forest.
Adding to the appearance of this bird that captures people’s attention is the long green tail that flows gracefully behind the body. In fact, the length of the tail is two times longer than the bird’s average body size of 15 inches. Although the entire body is breathtakingly beautiful, without doubt, the tail is a sight to behold, something that seems too good to be true.
Okay, so what is the name of the world’s most beautiful bird? This is the Resplendent Quetzal, a real treat if ever seen. For Mayan and Aztec populations, this beautiful bird is viewed as a sacred symbol. The name comes from the ancient Aztec word, “Quetzalli”, which is used to describe the tail feathers. For these people, this bird represented wealth because the majority of Mayans were traders and the tails were cherished, bringing in significant money, and freedom, since these populations believed this beautiful bird would die if kept captive.
Although the features of the world’s most beautiful bird were traded through Mexico and South America, the only people allowed to wear them were priests. In addition, the tail and various body feathers were never plucked from a dead bird but taken when alive at which time the bird would be set free to grow more feathers. Even the legend of how the Resplendent Quetzal acquired its stunning colors is beautiful.
It has been told that during a battle, a Mayan chieftain named Tecun Uman was killed by a Spanish conquistador by the name of Pedro de Alvarado. Just prior to the chieftain dying from his mortal wounds, a gorgeous green and gold quetzal landed on his chest, flying away as he took his final breath. The crimson red seen on the world’s most beautiful bird is still believed by many to be the blood stain of the Mayan chieftain.
This beautiful bird prefers to live alone most of the time but then in March through June when breeding, a male and female will mate, which produces two beautiful blue eggs. To incubate the eggs, the male and female Resplendent Quetzal shares the responsibility. Even when the birds hatch, both the male and female will take turns finding live insects and fresh fruit to feed the birds.
Because this beautiful bird has been hunted so extensively, it is now on the endangered list. Making the numbers even lower is the destruction of the rain and cloud forests where this bird lives. Some professionals are trying to breed the Resplendent Quetzal in captivity to save the world’s most beautiful bird from reaching extinction.