Quetzal Quetzal Quetzals () are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus "Pharomachrus" being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared quetzal, "Euptilotis neoxenus", is found in Mexico and very locally in the southernmost United States. Quetzals are fairly large (all over 32 cm or 13 inches long), slightly bigger than other trogon species. The quetzal is the country bird of Guatemala. Quetzals have iridescent green or golden-green wing coverts, back, chest and head, with a red belly. They are strongly sexually dimorphic, and
Quetzal parts of the females' plumage are brown or grey. These largely solitary birds feed on fruits, berries, insects and small vertebrates (such as frogs). Even with their famous bright plumage, they can be hard to see in their natural wooded habitats. None of the many quetzal species are under immediate threat in the wild, although the eared and resplendent quetzal are at the Near Threatened status. The remaining are not considered threatened by the IUCN and all are locally common. The name "quetzal" is from Nahuatl , "large brilliant tail feather" ("American Audubon Dictionary") or "tail coverts of the quetzal"