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What the sources say

Resplendent QuetzalPharomachrus mocinno

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Resplendent Quetzal profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 45 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Pena 2001

Pena (2001). Pharomachrus mocinno (resplendent quetzal). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysis a trogon of the cloud forests running from southern Mexico to Panama
The source saysCloud forest and montane forests of Central America. Range from Southern Mexico to Panama.
The page saysBill to the base of its tail, it measures about 35 centimeters (14 inches); leave out the tail and it is about the size of a pigeon or a magpie
The source saysSize: 14 in. (35cm) from bill to base of tail. ... Excluding tail, the length of the quetzal is comparable in size to a Magpie, Grosbeak, or Pigeon.
The page saysMales add far more: tail plumes that can reach 90 centimeters (3 feet)
The source saysMales' magnificent tail can be up to as much as 3ft. (90cm) long.
The page saysA male's head, neck, chest, back and wings are metallic green, set off by a crimson breast and belly and a bristly tuft of golden-green feathers forming a crest-like structure
The source saysThe head, neck, chest, back and wings of the males are a metallic green, while the breast and belly are bright crimson. The male has a distinct tuft of bristly upstanding golden green feathers on top of his head, forming a crestlike structure.
The page sayshis tail plumes are iridescent
The source saysThe most extravagant feature of the male quetzal is its iridescent tail plumesNote: ADW calls the tail plumes iridescent; no source in the pack describes a structural/nanocrystal mechanism, so the body doesn't claim one
The page saysFemales are similar in color but far less conspicuous, their heads running from smoky gray to bronze, and their breast sometimes gray or a muted red
The source saysThe female quetzal is very similar in color, yet far less conspicuous than males. The head of the female ranges from smoky-gray to bronze tinged with green at the edgings. The breast is sometimes gray or a muted shade of red far less vibrant than the males.
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web compares these laurel fruits, like the aguacatillo, to miniature avocados, and describes a mutualism in which the plants rely on the birds to spread their seeds
The source saysThe favored fruits and berries of the quetzal are produced by the laurel family, whose fruits resemble miniature avocados. The aguacatillo is an example of a laurel fruit in the quetzal's diet. Quetzals maintain a mutualistic relationship with the laurel family, as the plants depend on the bird to disperse seeds
The page saysWhen fruit is not available, quetzals turn to foods such as insects, small frogs and lizards
The source saysWhen fruits are not available the quetzal resorts to eating a variety of foods such as insects, small frogs, and lizards.
The page saysBoth parents feed chicks almost exclusively insects for their first week; at about two weeks old, fruit, small frogs, lizards and snails are added
The source saysDuring the first week the hatchlings are fed almost exclusively insects by both parents ... When the young reach about two weeks of age, fruits and small vertebrates (frogs, lizards, and snails) are introduced to them.
The page saysIts feet are very weak
The source saysThis makes their feet very weak and the first and second toes immovable.
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web notes that a quetzal's first and second toes are swung backward while the third and fourth point forward, an arrangement typical of the trogon family that leaves those two rear toes immovable
The source saysThe feet of the quetzal are very unusual, yet quintessential to the Trogon family. They have olive-gray colored feet with four toes on each foot (two in front and two in back). The first and second toes have been shifted to the rear, while the third and fourth are directed forward. This makes their feet very weak and the first and second toes immovable.
The page saysThe quetzal's skin is thin and easily torn; Animal Diversity Web notes that because of it, feathers fall out excessively during museum preparation, and that its colors fade fast, making it a poor species for display
The source saysThe skin of Pharomachrus mocino is very flimsy, thin and quite easily torn. Because of the fragile skin, feathers fall out excessively while being prepared in museums. Rapid fading of feather colors also make the quetzal a poor species for display.
The page saysThe same account says the bird was always thought unable to survive in captivity, so it came to represent liberty to the Indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America
The source saysThe bird was always thought to be unable to survive in captivity, so it came to represent liberty and freedom to the Indians of Mexico and Central America.Note: attributed to ADW (a 2001 student account) and kept in its passive voice: ADW does not say who held the belief, only whom the bird came to represent liberty to
The page saysIt adds that the Maya valued the feathers like gold, so killing a quetzal was a capital crime
The source saysThe Mayas considered the feathers worth gold, so killing a quetzal was a capital crime.Note: attributed to ADW's account by name, since it rests only on that 2001 student account (citing Grolier 1996 and Grzimek 1972)
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web describes the call as soft, deep and full
The source saysThe call is described as soft, deep, full and very powerful, with closely slurred notes.
The page saysnotes a male's breeding-season call rendered as "very-good very-good,"
The source saysThe male's call during this season sounds like "very-good very-good."
The page saysrecords a sharp "perwick" sound given in flight or when agitated
The source saysWhile taking flight or in agitation the bird gives off a sharp crackling "perwick" sound.
The page saysthe female usually lays two pale-blue eggs on the bare floor of a nest hole
The source saysThe female lays her eggs, usually two, on the floor of the chamber. The eggs are light-blue, globular in shape
The page saysincubated for 17 to 18 days with the male and female taking separate shifts through the day and night
The source saysParental care is exhibited by both quetzals, during the incubation period of 17-18 days. The pair shares incubation duties, separating the times of day each cares for the clutch. The female broods during the night and midday, while the male broods in early morning and late afternoon.Note: a duration resting only on ADW's 2001 account, per docs/fact-check.md "Check the date"; kept explicitly attributed to Animal Diversity Web by name rather than stated as a current fact, since no fresher source in the pack states incubation length
The page saysSouthern Mexico to Panama
The source saysRange from Southern Mexico to Panama.
The page saysMontane Cloud Forests
The source saysCloud forest and montane forests of Central America.
The page sayswhose males grow iridescent tail plumes up to 90 centimeters long
The source saysMales' magnificent tail can be up to as much as 3ft. (90cm) long. ... The most extravagant feature of the male quetzal is its iridescent tail plumes
The page saysIridescent Tail Plumes up to 90 cm
The source saysMales' magnificent tail can be up to as much as 3ft. (90cm) long. ... The most extravagant feature of the male quetzal is its iridescent tail plumes
The page saysLaurel Seed Dispersal
The source saysQuetzals maintain a mutualistic relationship with the laurel family, as the plants depend on the bird to disperse seeds in their droppings.
The page saysMetallic Green, With Plumes to Match
The source saysThe most extravagant feature of the male quetzal is its iridescent tail plumes, which can add up to 3 ft. to the birds length. The head, neck, chest, back and wings of the males are a metallic green
The page saysWeak Feet, Fragile Skin
The source saysThis makes their feet very weak and the first and second toes immovable. (Birkhead and Brooke 1991, Grzimek 1972, Skutch and Stiles 1989) Skin: The skin of Pharomachrus mocino is very flimsy, thin and quite easily torn. Because of the fragile skin
The page saysFrugivore (Wild Lauraceae "Avocado" Fruits; Insects, Frogs & Lizards When Fruit Is Scarce)
The source saysThe quetzal is preferentially a frugivore, yet it often must commit to omnivorous practices. The favored fruits and berries of the quetzal are produced by the laurel family, whose fruits resemble miniature avocados. ... When fruits are not available the quetzal resorts to eating a variety of foods such as insects, small frogs, and lizards.
The page saystwo hollow whistled notes, one rising steeply and one falling, repeated every eight to ten minutes
The source saysDuring its territorial call the quetzal melodiously whistles two hollow high-pitched notes, one ascending steeply and the other descending. This is repeated every eight to ten minutes.Note: vibe.reason (#908)
The page saysa male quetzal holds his territory
The source saysThe male quetzal claims its territory through dawn and mid-morning callingNote: vibe.reason (#908)
The page saystags: frugivore
The source saysThe quetzal is preferentially a frugivore, yet it often must commit to omnivorous practicesNote: replaces insectivore: insects only 'When fruits are not available' (#908)

Source
02

Powell & Bjork 1994

Powell & Bjork (1994). Implications of altitudinal migration for conservation strategies to protect tropical biodiversity: a case study of the Resplendent QuetzalPharomacrus mocinnoat Monteverde, Costa Rica. Bird Conservation International.

The page saysOne radio-tracking study at Monteverde, Costa Rica, put its tagged birds at 200 ± 10 grams
The source saysThe entire package weighed about 6 g or about 3% of the 200 ± 10 g birds.Note: scoped to the Quetzals captured and radio-tagged in this Monteverde study, not a species-wide figure
The page saysthey breed in the lower montane cloud forest, then move
The source saysQuetzals migrate from their breeding areas in the lower montane rainforest (cloud-forest) life zone to pre-montane wet and moist life zones on the Pacific slopes
The page saysA radio-telemetry study that tracked 19 birds at Monteverde
The source saysDuring two years of study we successfully placed radio-transmitters on 19 Quetzals
The page saysquetzals migrate to the Pacific slopes for three to four months (July to October), after which they move across the continental divide to the Atlantic slopes
The source saysQuetzals migrate from their breeding areas in the lower montane rainforest (cloud-forest) life zone to pre-montane wet and moist life zones on the Pacific slopes for three to four months (July-October), after which they move across the continental divide to the Atlantic slopes.
The page saysOn the Pacific slope the tagged birds settled in forest between 1,100 and 1,450 meters over the two study years
The source saysmoved down the Pacific slope into small fragments of pre-montane moist forest between 1,300 and 1,450 m elevation; during the second year of the study, all birds had moved off the breeding range into the lower montane and pre-montane wet forests between 1,100 and 1,350 m elevationNote: the span of both study years' Pacific-slope ranges: 1,300-1,450 m in year one (all but one bird), 1,100-1,350 m in year two
The page saysthe existing Monteverde reserve complex did not adequately protect the birds' year-round habitat
The source saysThese data demonstrated that the existing Monteverde reserve complex does not adequately protect the Quetzal's year-round habitat.
The page saysthe Pacific-slope forest patches they used were subject to deforestation and degradation and rapidly becoming more isolated
The source sayswe identified the areas on the Pacific slopes that are most critical to altirudinally migrating Quetzals. These forest patches are subject to deforestation and degradation and are rapidly becoming further isolated from other remaining forest.Note: past tense: a 1994 finding about the Pacific-slope patches, not a statement about today
The page saysA radio-tracking study at Monteverde, Costa Rica followed tagged quetzals across the continental divide and down the Atlantic slope to elevations as low as about 700 meters, where they stayed until returning to nest in the cloud forest in January
The source saysmigrated across the continental divide and down the Atlantic dopes into pre-montane rainforest at 700 to 1,200 m elevation. They remained in this area until returning to their breeding ranges in the cloud-forest in January.Note: "dopes" is the source PDF's own typo for "slopes", not reproduced in the claim text
The page saysA cloud forest trogon revered by pre-Columbian cultures
The source saysthe Resplendent Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno, a species that was revered by pre-Columbian cultures
The page saysAn Altitudinal Commute
The source saysPerhaps the best known altitudinal migrant in Central America is the Resplendent Quetzal

Source
03

Wheelwright 1983

Wheelwright (1983). Fruits and the Ecology of Resplendent Quetzals. The Auk.

The page saysquetzals feeding on a minimum of 12 to 18 fruit species at most times of the year, and at least 41 species over a full year, but depending mostly on about 18 species of large fruit in the laurel family (Lauraceae)
The source saysquetzals feed on a minimum of 12-18 species of fruits at most times of the year and on an annual total of at least 41 species ... they depend mostly on the large drupes of about 18 species in the laurel family (Lauraceae)
The page saysLiving Mostly on Laurel Fruit
The source saysthey depend mostly on the large drupes of about 18 species in the laurel family (Lauraceae)

Source
04

Dayer 2020

Dayer (2020). Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). Birds of the World.

The page saysBirds of the World describes the bird's uppertail covert feathers as "longer than its entire body."
The source saysWith an iridescent green sheen and uppertail covert feathers longer than its entire body, the bird has attracted much attention
The page saysBirds of the World, in text last updated in 2010, says it may be the most threatened of all trogonids, and that the cloud forest it depends on continues to decline
The source saysText last updated July 30, 2010 ... this quetzal may be the most threatened of all trogonids and the tropical cloud forest that the bird depends on continues to decline, further threatening itNote: the 2020 version 1.0 page states "Text last updated July 30, 2010", so the decline is dated to that text

Source
05

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022

Pharomachrus mocinno. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023: e.T22682727A221577625.

The page saysThe IUCN Red List rates the resplendent quetzal Near Threatened
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). Pharomachrus mocinno de la Llave, 1832, IUCN taxon 22682727.Note: category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List, per docs/fact-check.md

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.