Body length3.6 tenths m
2 tenthsVending machine heights
4.7 hundredthsTape measure lengths
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Resplendent Quetzal
The sacred bird of Mesoamerican civilizations/Small Animals
The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a brilliantly colored bird found in the cloud forests of Central America. Males are famous for their iridescent green plumage and spectacular tail streamers that can reach 65 cm long, nearly twice the bird's body length of 36 cm. The Aztec and Maya revered the quetzal as a god of the air, and its feathers were used as currency. The Guatemalan currency, the quetzal, is named after this bird. Plucking its tail feathers was punishable by death in Aztec society.
Measurements
Tail streamer length6.5 tenths m
325 millionDNA helices
16.2 quintillionthsProxima Centauri trips
Body mass2.1 tenths kg
3 thousandthsAverage adults
84US pennies
150 millionthsHonda Civics
Wingspan5.5 tenths m
550 billionGamma ray wavelengths
1.8 hundredthsBlue whale lengths
5.5 thousandthsCity block lengths
Altitude range2,500 m
8,929Football lengths
1,645Dolly Partons
1,500 to 3,000 m elevation