Resplendent Quetzal (Costa Rica)

[Glenn Bartley]

I am just back from a month in Costa Rica leading a few trips. It is always a real treat to see this spectacular species.

Did you know that to the ancient Aztec and Mayan peoples the Quetzal was a sacred symbol of freedom and wealth. Freedom, because it was believed that a quetzal would not survive in captivity, preferring death to imprisonment; and wealth, because quetzal feathers were worn only by royalty and were more precious even than gold. Quetzals were believed to protect these ancient peoples in battle and are even believed to be the inspiration for the mythical phoenix.

All I know is it is one amazing bird and every time I see one I am amazed at the beauty of nature :)

Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D
Shutter speed: 1/30 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: On
ISO: 640
Focal length: 500mm + 1.4x
Post Processing - Cloned a few branches out of the BG

[Ofer Levy]

This must be one of the finest images of this bird! Beautiful work Glenn !

[Graeme Cox]

What a cracker of a image beautiful bird.. Wish it was mine..

[Peter Scholer]

Incredibly beautiful bird. Excellent capture, nicely lit showing sharpness and detail in a great pose. Magnificent perch and pleasing background.

[Joe Murphy]

Stunning bird, beautifully shot Glenn.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I bet you were over the moon when you got that image, it is fantastic, a beautiful bird in such a fantastic setting - one in a million - absolutely stunning. I don't mind the branch top right, I have slight reservations over the OOF stump bottom left.

[Gerald Kelberg]

Truly amazing bird and fabulous image. Branch top right and stump lower left don't bother me at all - they seem to balance each other and, if anything, frame the bird. Nice to get the background information, too. Thanks, Gerald

[Daniel Cadieux]

Beautiful, I bet this looks quite amazing at larger sizes than web posting!! Thanks for the info on this species too.

[Leandro Herrainz]

This is the best picture than I ever seen of quetzal, congratulations!

[Lorant Voros]

Beautiful picture of this special and amazing bird....yes, probably the best I have ever seen. Thanks for the story; always interesting to know what the people who lived in harmony with nature believed and thought of those animals that we share the world with.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

What else to say Glenn, this is a really special bird and image. cheers.