The Eared Quetzal is another bird that will be in my Songbird ReMix Trogons (early August release). The Eared Quetzal is native to streamside pine-oak forests and canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico south to western Michoacán, and southeastern-most Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. This range includes part of the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora. The female (left) has a grayer breast with less sheen. It is considered "Threatened" under Mexican law with 20,000-49,999 individuals and a decreasing population trend. The main cause is habitat loss. It is estimated that 15-49% of its population has been lost in Mexico during the last century. Quetzals differ from typical New World trogons in having iridescent wing coverts, less extensive fusion between the two forward-facing toes of their heterodactyl foot, broad tails with distinctly convex (rather than straight or concave) sides, and eggs with pale blue shells. They also average larger in body size than typical trogons, and the eggs and young develop more slowly. The eared quetzal is a seemingly primitive form, lacking the impressively long iridescent upper tail and wing coverts of members of the genus Pharomachrus (including the “Resplendent quetzal”).