Author: BrantaMedia.Com

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

Considered sacred by several Mesoamerican civilizations, the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) remains culturally significant to this day. The Resplendent Quetzal likely inspired Quetzalcoatl, the “plumed serpent” god of Mesoamerica. Legend has it that Quetzalcoatl helped create Earth. Rulers and nobility wore headdresses made from this quetzal’s shining green feathers, which symbolically connected them to the god.

In some Mesoamerican cultures, it was considered a crime to kill a quetzal, so the plumes were procured by capturing the bird, plucking its long tail feathers, and setting it free. In several Mesoamerican

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The robust, long-legged Wood Thrush is closely related to the American Robin and thrushes of the genus Catharus, such as the Bicknell’s Thrush and Swainson’s Thrush. Its scientific name, Hylocichla mustelina, translates roughly as “weasel-colored woodland thrush,” a reference to this bird’s rich red-brown head, back, wings, and tail.

The Wood Thrush’s haunting, flute-like song is made possible by some very specialized anatomy. Like all songbirds, Wood Thrushes have a Y-shaped voice box, called a syrinx. During his three-part song, a male Wood Thrush actually sings pairs of notes simultaneously,

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

Preventing extinctions and reversing bird population declines are two key outcomes of ABC’s mission. Every acre matters for globally threatened birds, which often have small, restricted ranges and dwindling habitat.

Take the Puerto Rican Amazon (also known as Puerto Rican Parrot) for example, one of the rarest birds in the world — endemic to Puerto Rico, with fewer than 500 individuals remaining in the wild. Recovery efforts have focused on captive breeding and releasing these birds into three forests across the island, but new technology is helping fill in critical