Revue Magazine 2010-11 (November)

The male can be heard singing an unusually beautiful song of deep,
smooth, slurred notes in simple patterns.
cool, coo-cool. Sometimes the male can be
heard singing an unusually beautiful song
of deep, smooth, slurred notes in simple
patterns: keow kowee keow k’loo keow k’loo
keeloo. On a few occasions I have heard
them make sounds remarkably similar to a
cat’s meow.
Ritualized reproductive behavior begins
in March or April. Often male and female
quetzals can be seen flying through the
forest in small flocks, and it is at this time
of year when the male’s spectacular vertical
display flight is most often seen.
Once the male-female pair is formed they
proceed immediately to search for a nesting
site. Often pairs will attempt to return to
nests used the previous year and intense
competition between pairs can ensue.
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The male, especially, can be seen making
aggressive spiraling flights and calling
loudly if any other pair is seen near his
chosen nest, though I have never seen
actual physical combat.
Since quetzals, because of their relatively
weak beaks, are only capable of carving nest
holes in the most rotten tree trunks, there
are probably cases where some pairs are
unable to mate because of an insufficient
number of nesting sites.
Once a good site is found—and it may
be either in the middle of the forest or an
adjacent clearing—both male and female
go to work making the hole, usually from 5
to 27 meters (16 to 90 feet) above ground.
The hole is deep and similar to that of a
woodpecker. In fact, sometimes quetzals will
take over an abandoned woodpecker nest.