Quetzal spotting for fun and profit

 One bird we were very keen to see in Costa Rica was the Resplendent Quetzal, famed for its incredibly long tail feathers. They like to live high in the mountains and cloud forests where they eat a variety of berries. We had no luck spotting them on Monteverde, but on the last day of our tour, Mario took us on an alternate route back to San Jose which took us through a different range of their territory. Below is the female quetzal we saw first. She was quite close and made us think seeing the male would be easy.

 There is a collective of farmers and naturalists in the highlands who run a sightings network to help tourists see the quetzal. For $10 per person you are allowed on their land to look for it yourself, and for $30 per person they will make sure you spot it. We were tight for time, so we chose the more expensive option with a few people to ensure we could find it. This decision was worth every penny as the local guides were very good at what they do, and because there's a male quetzal in the picture below, but you'd never know it.

 After skulking around in dense foliage for 20 minutes or so, the male flew out and posed beautifully for us in direct sunlight, showing just how striking a bird it really is. The tail feathers of the male are several times the body length of the bird and they are stunning animals. After a few minutes of an amazing view the male and his two females flew away into the unknown forest.