Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) wildlife photograph

Expedition 🇨🇷 Costa Rica

Resplendent Quetzal in Costa Rica

Where to spot the resplendent quetzal in Costa Rica, and how to log the discovery in Catch'Um.

Pharomachrus mocinno

Finding Resplendent Quetzal in Costa Rica

Looking for the resplendent quetzal in Costa Rica? Start with Monteverde Cloud Forest, where access and habitat make a sighting more likely than a chance roadside glimpse.

Monteverde Cloud Forest in Puntarenas is the place to begin. Misty canopy bridges and moss-draped trees, with sloths, quetzals, and hummingbirds in cool highland forest. Give yourself quiet time at dawn or dusk and keep your distance.

Costa Rica context: Sloths in the cloud forest, toucans in the canopy, and more biodiversity per square kilometre than almost anywhere on Earth.

In Costa Rica, look especially around cloud forest and montane rainforest. Those settings usually put you closest to where this species is active.

Where to spot one

  • Monteverde Cloud Forest

    Puntarenas

    Misty canopy bridges and moss-draped trees, with sloths, quetzals, and hummingbirds in cool highland forest.

    View on map →Official site →

Full species guide

Biology, interesting facts, identification, and conservation live on the Resplendent Quetzal field guide. This page stays focused on finding one in Costa Rica.

Open Resplendent Quetzal species guideCosta Rica expedition

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Log the Resplendent Quetzal in Costa Rica

Spot one in the wild, then scan it in Catch'Um to log your legendary discovery.