Pharomachrus mocinno is a small climbing bird in the family Pharomachrus mocinno, the most beautiful bird in the South American jungle, with an extremely gorgeous appearance, and the male green cuckoo has smooth long tail feathers, like phoenix-like tail feathers. The Phoenix-tailed Green Cuckoo is the largest of the cuckoos, measuring 38–42 cm in length. Plus the tail feathers are up to 70 cm long. Weight 180-210 g. Its natural habitat is tropical jungles in southern Mexico as well as Central America, pristine moist montane cloud forests, ravines and cliffs with lush vegetation, forest edges, pastures, between 900-3200 meters above sea level. In Costa Rica, migration to lower altitudes has been recorded during the non-breeding season.
Fast flying, famous for having very beautiful feathers, one of the most beautiful birds in the Americas, occupies an important place in Mesoamerican myths and legends. The green-biting cuckoo is the national bird of Guatemala and has a green-biting cuckoo on the flag and coat of arms of Guatemala.
The breeding period is between February and July each year, and in order to attract females, males perform courtship dances, jump in the air and sing loudly. Males and females nest together, usually nesting in tree holes 20-30 meters above the ground, and occasionally choosing old woodpeckers' holes. After mating, the female lays 1 or 2 eggs in the nest, which are pale blue in color and hatch for 17 to 18 days in both parents. Once hatched, males and females take turns feeding the chicks from 23 to 31 days until they leave the nest with plump feathers.
It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.
