Quetzal
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Quetzal (disambiguation).
{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Quetzal
| status = LR/nt
| image = 133quetzal.JPG
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Male Resplendent Quetzal
| regnum = Animalia
| phylum = Chordata
| classis = Aves
| ordo = Trogoniformes
| familia = Trogonidae
| genus = Pharomachrus
| genus_authority = De la Llave, 1832
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
P. antisianus
P. auriceps
P. fulgidus
P. mocinno
P. pavoninus
Ref: ITIS 553589
}}
Quetzals are colorful birds of the trogon family found in tropical regions of the Americas.
Although "quetzal" is used to name all the species of the genus Pharomachrus, the word alone is often used to name one particular species, the Resplendent Quetzal, Pharomachrus mocinno. Other quetzals include:
- P. antisianus: Crested Quetzal
- P. auriceps: Golden-headed Quetzal
- P. fulgidus: White-tipped Quetzal
- P. pavoninus: Pavonine Quetzal
The Mexican trogon Euptilotis neoxenus is related to Pharomachrus and is called the Eared Quetzal by some authorities, such as the American Ornithologists' Union, but the Eared Trogon by others.
Etymology
The name "quetzal" is from Nahuatl quetzalli, "large brilliant tail feather" (American Heritage Dictionary) or "tail coverts of the quetzal" (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary), from the Nahuatl root quetz = "stand up" used to refer to an upstanding plume of feathers.
Pharomachrus is from ancient Greek pharos, "mantle", and makros, "long", referring to the wing and tail coverts of the Resplendent Quetzal. (The second h is unexplained.)