The Truth About Birds of Central America Quiz

Answer: Quetzal

The quetzal is almost ever present in Guatemala; not only is it the national bird, but it features on the country's coat of arms and even lends its name to the currency. Male resplendent quetzals display the classic combination of a green body with a red breast, whilst females often have green or grey breast feathers. The two can also be distinguished by the crest of the male which is not present in the female.

In addition to being a bird, 'The Resplendent Quetzal' is also the name of a short story by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.

Answer: Long-tailed manakin

The courtship dance of the long-tailed manakin is really something to behold. Often performed by multiple males in tandem, they leap over one another whilst moving rapidly along a branch. Despite only reaching some 10 cm in length, the long-tailed manakin is one of the largest in the manakin family.

The female has completely different colouring from the male, with a dark green body and a grey chest.

Answer: Scarlet

Perhaps some of the most recognisable species in the world, the macaws are among the largest birds in the order of parrots. Despite some damage to its natural habitat, the scarlet macaw remains fairly common in the wild, and can be found in every Central American country. The scarlet macaw is often confused with the red-and-green macaw, with the prominence of yellow in the plumage of the scarlet macaw being one way to tell them apart.

Answer: No

It seems rather unfair to name a species after a feature that half the population don't have but hey, I'm no avian taxonomist. Equally striking, the female typically has a yellow crest with bright blue cheek feathers. Despite their appearance, the New World barbet family is actually a close relative of the toucans.

In addition to living in Costa Rica and Panama, the red-headed barbet can also be found in the Andean forests of Peru and Ecuador.

Answer: Olive-backed euphonia

If this question seemed impossible then I apologise, the clue was in the "cocktail of plumage" (because all cocktails have olives, right?). The plumage of the male olive-backed euphonia is extremely glossy, giving almost a plastic appearance at first glance.

The binomial for the olive-backed euphonia is Euphonia gouldi, named for the 19th Century English ornithologist John Gould who worked with Charles Darwin whilst he was developing his ideas on evolution.

Answer: Toucan

The toucan family contains over 40 different species, all of which are found in Central or South America. The birds derive their name from the Tupi language word 'tukana' and are easily recognised by their oversized beaks. The largest of the toucans is the toco toucan, found predominantly in Brazil and Bolivia, while the smallest is the lettered aracari.

Answer: Motmot

The clue here required a bit of French knowledge, as 'mot' is the French word for 'word'. Despite carrying different names, many of the birds known as motmots are considered conspecific. Blue-crowned motmots nest underground, typically creating tunnels in which to lay their eggs.

Answer: Clay-colored thrush

Little brown birds are so common in the avian world that birdwatchers often refer to such birds as 'LBBs' because they can be difficult to tell apart. The reason that the clay-colored thrush was chosen as the national bird of Costa Rica was (unsurprisingly) not because of its colouring, but instead due to its distinctive call that heralds the beginning of the rainy season.

The national birds of Central American countries that didn't get their photos into this quiz are the harpy eagle (Panama) and the turquoise-browed motmot (Nicaragua and El Salvador).

Answer: Sunbittern

True bitterns fall under the subfamily Botaurinae, a part of the heron family. Despite its uniqueness, the sunbittern has a wide range and can be found from Guatemala all the way down to Bolivia. The closest relative of the sunbittern is actually a bird called the kagu, endemic to the archipelago of New Caledonia to the east of Australia.

Answer: King vulture

King vultures are one of the largest of the New World vultures (though they are exceeded by the enormous Andean condor). They can be found from Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south, and can easily be recognised by the fleshy caruncle hanging from their faces. King vultures have been known to live for up to 30 years in captivity, hence their popularity as an exhibit.