Claudia Leticia Burgos Barrios

Claudia Leticia Burgos Barrios is a biologist from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala and a close collaborator of the Hispanic Research Center's resplendent quetzal project. Claudia has been studying the nesting behavior and microhabitat of quetzals in the Los Andes Private Reserve (located in Santa Barbara, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala) for several years. In recent years, Claudia has been erecting nest boxes for the quetzals, which have been used with some success at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

Claudia’s objective is to identify the main characteristics of nesting sites and to establish some parameters for monitoring the nests and tree stumps that quetzals use. She identified 22 nests and stumps and established a monitoring zone of 20 m x 20 m around them. As a result of her study, she determined that 45 percent of the nests were found in Brachium costaricanum trees. Furthermore, she found that the majority of nests were oriented west-northwest and north. These are important findings that should be considered in future studies involving the use of artificial quetzal nests.

Claudia’s unpublished research study title is "Caracterización de sitios de anidamiento para Pharomachrus mocinno mocinno en la zona de protección de la Reserva Natural Privada Los Andes, Santa Bárbara, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala."

To see an abstract of the study in English click here.

View Research Presentation (50 Mb Quicktime video)