Golden-headed Quetzal

Pharomachrus auriceps

The Andean cloud forest quetzal with a blazing gold-green head. Males guard the nest hole from inside, facing out.

Population: 50,000-499,999 mature individuals, described as fairly common; population decreasing due to montane forest loss, though range and total numbers remain large enough to avoid IUCN vulnerability thresholds
Habitat: Humid subtropical/tropical montane and foothill forest, including cloud forest and elfin woodland; occasionally uses degraded/edge habitat; typically found roughly 1,200-3,100 m elevation (BirdLife's broader range figure spans 55-3,520 m).
Fun fact: Unusually among trogons, the Golden-headed Quetzal keeps its nest cavity clean by removing or (more often) swallowing its chicks' droppings rather than leaving them to accumulate.
Range: Andes and adjacent foothills from eastern Panama through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, with a disjunct population in Venezuela (Sierra de Perijá and Andean ranges); total range approx. 3,560,000 km² across 6 countries
Diet: Primarily fruit (dominates diet, ~87.5% of stomach contents in one study), supplemented with insects and other arthropods; an important seed disperser in montane forest.
Size: 0.345 m
Wingspan: 0.33 m

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