Golden-headed Quetzal

The Golden-headed Quetzal, which is closer to the literal Latin translation and which our English neighbours have translated as Golden-headed Quetzal, probably forms a superspecies with the Pavonine Quetzal, which has a red beak and the female of which has bars on its lower rectrices. Dimorphism is pronounced in the species like in many trogonids. The male is a large bird, 33-36 cm without its tail of about 10 cm, and it has a strong yellow bill. The head, neck and throat are of an incredible shade of green and gold with bronze reflections. Depending on the ambient light, this head can appear golden, emerald green, bronze or copper. The eye is dark brown, almost black. The chest is emerald green with turquoise reflections, while the stomach and lower stomach are bright red. The Golden-headed Quetzal wears long and almost vertical great coverts, which are always of an emerald green shade with gold reflections. The coverts and remiges are black, the mantle and back the same emerald green as the chest but with marked blue or turquoise reflections. The bird can sometimes even appear completely blue according to the light when observed from the back. The three pairs of lower rectrices are black. Depending on its position, the green tip of the two central upper rectrices may appear and give the impression that the Golden-headed Quetzal has two leaves on the tip of its tail. When the bird is observed from the back, these two rectrices keep the greenish-gold shade of the mantle and back; the tail then appears black and green. The olive green legs are more coloured than in many trogonids. The female is paler than her mate; the cap is dark-greenish-brown, the throat and neck dark-brown, the chest with green and brown shades in its upper part and brown until the stomach which is of a duller red than the male.Its bill is brown-grey, the upper mandible can be grey. When the Golden-headed Quetzal is seen from the front, the upper rectrices of green are not seen. Juveniles resemble their mothers with a brown breast which takes on green tinges with age, the bill is black, the coverts are green without the golden reflections of adults with outer ochre-brown borders. The abdomen is more pink than red, the rectrices have white marks on a black background. There are two subspecies, Pharomacrus auriceps and ssp hargitti in the Venezuelan Andes, with a more golden colour on the head and a slightly longer tail, both subspecies are very similar and difficult to recognise, hybridisations probably take place in the meeting areas.