Eared Quetzal

I drove over to the the Chiricahua Mountains area yesterday. I usually stay in the Forest Service campgrounds in Cave Creek but they are all closed. So, I’m in an RV park, Rusty’s RV Park, north of Rodeo, New Mexico. The bird I wanted to see here is the Eared Quetzal (pronounced KET-zal). There have been some seen in the Chiricahua Mountains off and on all summer. This morning, I saw one of them in Cave Creek and heard another. ABA Life Bird #603.

The Eared Quetzel is an uncommon, large trogon of pine and pine-oak forests in mountains and canyons of northwest Mexico. North of Mexico, this species is very rare. A wary bird, they will fly long distances when disturbed but can be found feeding quietly at fruiting trees. That is what this one was doing, feeding on hackberry fuits.