Resplendent quetzals have a green body (showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet) and red breast. Depending on the light, quetzal feathers can shine in a variant of colors: green, cobalt, lime, yellow, to ultramarine. Their green upper tail coverts hide their tails and in breeding males are particularly splendid, being longer than the rest of the body. Though quetzal plumages appear green, they are actually brown due to the melanin pigment. The primary wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. The male has a helmet-like crest. The bill, which is partly covered by green filamentous feathers, is yellow in mature males and black in females. Their iridescent feathers, which causes them to appear shiny and green like the canopy leaves, are a camouflage adaptation to hide within the canopy during rainy weather.