Eu-rica!

Resplendent birding await those who visit the Central American country of Costa Rica, as columnist Ruth Miller found to her delight

- Ruth Miller

You would think that an emerald green bird, with a vermilion belly, a banana coloured bill, and a two-foot tail streamer would stand out like a sore thumb in any tree. Not a bit of it. We all saw the bird swoop into the tree and then completely vanish from sight. This wasn’t any old tree; it was an aguacatillo, which means ‘little avocado’ in Spanish, and to be fair to us, the dense tree was dotted with confusing emerald and vermilion baubles, the small wild relatives of the commercial avocados found in supermarkets here.

It certainly wasn’t any old bird either; it was a Resplendent Quetzal, and a male bird to boot. That certainly made the heart beat faster as we carefully checked the branches over again as we tried to catch a glimpse of our target bird.

Suddenly, there was a violent swoosh of green as our bird swooped from its hiding place to snatch an avocado to eat, and this time it landed more obligingly in full view. This glorious bird truly was resplendent, as its iridescent green body glowed vividly in the early morning Costa Rica sunshine. Its floppy primary wing coverts extended over its rich red belly to look just like a green fringed cape, while its spiky punk hairdo made a green halo in the soft light. Its surveyed us motionless with its big black button eyes, as it slowly rotated its head in the distinctive manner of all trogons.