Usually the female of the species is ignored as the male displays his resplendence, however I think she has her own subtle beauty. We did not go to the quetzal area this last trip. This one from 2 years ago.
1D Mark III, 500 f/4.
ISO 1250, f/8, 1/500, tripod
Lovely bird and BG Susan. I agree, and often think female birds are more beautiful than the males. Also like the perch and moss/lichens, pose and head angle. It would have been better to have more room to the left in the direction the bird is looking. Tough to create canvas on left side because of branch, but maybe you have another image from which you could copy this. I would also remove the retinal reflection caused by flash by burning-in the pupil and maybe lightening the catch-light a little. Finally you could burn-in up the bright patch on the branch and make it a bit less noticeable.
John covered the tech details well. The pupil really jumps out. I would agree about toning down the perch. It doesn't seem quite as crisp as the bird itself.
Beautiful image, Susan. The bird, bg, and perch are all fantastic. I agree with the comments above only I would clone out the big bright areas on the perch and in the bg. I would also tone down the small bright areas a bit. Lastly, I think the comp may have been even better if the bird was farther right in the frame. Above, is an example with the changes I suggested.
NIce capture, Susan, Agree on placing the bird on the right or wait till he faced the other way, to keep most of the negative space in front of him, instead of behind. I think the perch is a bit over-sharpened?
What a treat to see this little jewel of Costa Rica. Beautiful face and detail Susan and big congrats on finding and being able to photograph the Quetzal. :D