Prompt Entry 4

In late January of 2006, I had just begun living in Costa Rica for the first time. I was part of a study abroad program, and as part of that program, on the second day the directors had packed our group into a private bus heading to a highland region of the country called Savegre. While other students socialized between themselves, my face was plastered to the window. The scenery was unbelievable. The mountains were soaked in vibrant greenery, and as our bus ascended the narrow and uneven roads (Costa Rica has some infamy for its rough infrastructure), they were increasingly ringed with clouds. Eventually, we too passed through a cloud. I could not believe it. We had driven through a cloud. I was surrounded by rainforest. It all seemed too serene.

The program director's name was Zaida, and halfway through the three or so hour trip stood at the front of the bus to speak. She told us a little about Savegre, how it was a cloud forest that had only been settled fifty or so years before, and that there were many birds there. Although it was only my second day in Costa Rica, I knew from my research that the cloud forest was the home of the resplendent quetzal. I immediately asked Zaida if there were any in Savegre.

"Yes," she said. "I believe so, but I've never seen one. You'll need a lot of luck, since we'll only be there for three days, but it is possible." Zaida then asked me how I knew about the bird. I, of course, had brought the field guide I'd bought for my stay, the legendary Stiles and Skutch. I flipped to Plate 26, the trogons and jacamars, and showed Zaida. She smiled and held it up for the entire bus to see.

The resplendent quetzal is itself a trogon, but it's beauty, especially of the male, far exceeds that of each member of an already remarkably attractive family of birds. The majority of its plumage is a crisp, glittering green, including the head, which sports a spiky mohawk, most of the wings, and tail feathers, except for the lower retrices (tail feathers visible only from the front), which are white. The lower breast is a deep maroon that shades to a bright crimson on the belly. I read later that there's a legend that after a battle between Mayan warriors and conquistadors, the quetzals emerged from the forest and wept over the bodies of the fallen Mayans, forever soaking up the blood.

The most noteworthy of its physical features are the four tail coverts that extend into long, wispy streamers. They can reach the length of up to 11 inches, and place the bird in a realm of beauty that surpasses all its peers. It's widely regarded as the most beautiful bird in the western hemisphere, and perhaps the world.

When we arrived at Savegre, we ate a lunch of Costa Rica's ubiquitous gallo pinto, which is essentially just rice and beans. Some of the students teased Zaida about how they planned to spend the rest of their time in the hotel drinking, and they were only partially joking. After the meal, we had some free time, which I chose to spend hiking around the area. It was very forested, damp, and slightly cold, as is unexpectedly the case in the montane areas of tropical America.

Another member of the group, whose name was Ezra, joined me, and we spent some time talking and walking around the premises. The abundant hummingbirds were gorgeous and exciting to watch as they sped by. I identified several, including mountain-gems, violet-ears, and sabrewings. The names of hummingbirds are almost as much a thrill as they are. There were also flame-colored tanagers, which do justice to their namesake, and healthy flocks of shrieking barred parakeets.

We had walked very slowly through the adjacent forest, which is often my habit, as I become easily engaged by my surroundings and often make little forward progress along a trail. We turned around when we realized it was nearly time for us to meet again with the entire group.

We turned a bend as we approached the hotel, and like a bolt of lightning, my arm shot up and pointed ahead of us. A resplendent quetzal. I knew it from the very moment I saw it. It remained completely still, perched on the bough of a large tree, and blended in exceedingly well with its surroundings, despite its bright red belly. But for some reason, it jumped out at me from far away, and I saw it as clearly as a rose in a bed of daffodils. I should have known then, right at that moment, that the forests of the neotropics were eager to disclose some of their closely guarded secrets to me.

After marveling for some time at the beauty of this remarkable creature, which remained perfectly still as we observed it from a respectful distance, we returned to the hotel. As I approached Zaida, she made eye contact with me, and I blurted out, "I saw one! I saw a quetzal!" She laughed and smiled. She thought I was one of the jokers. Slowly, her face twisted into a stare of disbelief. I asked her then, "Would you like to go see him?"