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This is, or was, a quetzal. I spotted him in a museum. The live ones are much more difficult to find. You might have to climb up into the cloud forests of Alta Verapaz - and even then it's not easy. The quetzal was sacred to the Maya and they used the bird's tail feathers as a form of currency. {In fact, today the Guatemala currency is called quetzal.} Both the Mayans and the Aztecs considered Quetzalcoatl {Feathered Serpent} a deity and you can see its image painted on ancient pieces of pottery. |