One of the eighteen Maya months is named Muan, and some of the glyphs appearing for this month in the codices certainly represent the Moan or screech owl. This is especially so with text [figs. 3-6]. Förstemann (1904a) considers that the month Muan and, consequently, the sign as well, refer to the Pleiades.
In connection with the screech owl referring to death, it is interesting to note that among the Nahuas the owl is considered of unlucky augury and is usually found in the “House of Death” and “of Drought”, as contrasted with the turkey, considered as a bird of good fortune, and found in the “House of Rain.”
Coppery-tailed Trogan or Quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno). The quetzal is common locally in certain parts of southern Mexico. Its brilliant metallic green plumage and the greatly elongated tail feathers make it a very notable bird. The feathers of the head are erect and stand out as a light crest, those of the anterior portion being slightly recurved. The delicate erect feathers of the head are well indicated in Vaticanus 3773, 17 ([Pl. 24], fig. 9) and the tail, also, in this figure, is only slightly conventionalized with an upward instead of the natural downward sweep. In most of the representations, the crest feathers are indicatd by large plumes, the most anterior of which project forward. They may be even further modified into three knobs shown in Dresden 7c ([Pl. 24], fig. 1). The two characteristics of the quetzal, namely its erect head feathers and its extraordinarily long tail feathers, are often used separately. Thus the tail, which is commonly drawn with the outer feather of each side strongly curled forward, appears by itself in [Pl. 24], fig. 8, or it may be seen as a plume in the head-dress of a priest or warrior and in other connections as an ornament. A greatly conventionalized drawing of the bird is also shown in [Pl. 24], fig. 11, in which the head bears a curious knob and the dorsal feather of the tail is upcurled in the manner of the other drawings. It is not at once apparent why the long drooping tail feathers should be shown thus recurved. Possibly these feathers, when used by the Mayas for plumes, curled over by their own weight, if held erect, so that the representations are a compromise between the natural appearance and that when used as ornament in the head decoration.
The color of the bird and the very long tail feathers have already been mentioned, and these explain the reason of the importance of this bird among the Mayas. It is claimed by several old authorities that the quetzal was reserved for the rulers, and that it was death for any common person to kill this bird for his own use. It seems from a statement in Landa (1864, p. 190)[341-*] that birds were domesticated for the feathers. This bird occurs again and again in various modifications throughout the Maya art. The feathers of the quetzal are the ones usually associated with the serpent, making the rebus, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, the culture hero of the Nahuas, or Kukulcan, which has the same signification among the Mayas. It is impossible to mention here all the various connections in which the quetzal appears. The feathers play an important part in the composition of the head-dresses of the priests and warriors, especially those in the stone carvings. A quotation has already been given from Landa, showing the use made of feathers in the dress of the people. Text [fig. 7] shows perhaps the most elaborate representation of this bird. It is found on the sculptured tablet of the Temple of the Cross at Palenque. The quetzal is shown seated on top of a branching tree which was long taken to represent a cross. A similar representation is seen on the tablet of the Temple of the Foliated Cross from the same ruined city. In the Codex Fejervary-Mayer, there are four trees in each of which there is a bird. A quetzal is perched in the one corresponding to the east, which is regarded as the region of opulence and moisture. Seler (1901, p. 17) suggests that the quetzal in the tree on the two bas-reliefs at Palenque may represent a similar idea and that temples which would show the other three trees and their respective birds had not been built in that center.
The representation of the quetzal as an entire bird is, after all, comparatively rare. The most realistic drawing is seen on a jar from Copan in the collections of the Peabody Museum. The whole body of the bird is shown as a head-dress in a few places in the codices where birth and the naming of children are pictured. In Dresden 16c ([Pl. 24], fig. 3) and Tro-Cortesianus 94c ([Pl. 24], fig. 6), the quetzal is the head-dress of women. In Dresden 13b ([Pl. 24], fig. 2), a partial drawing of the bird is shown as a part of the head-dress of god E, in Dresden 7c ([Pl. 24], fig. 1) of god H, and in Tro-Cortesianus 110c of god F. The feathers alone appear as a female head decoration in Dresden 20c ([Pl. 24], fig. 8). It occurs as a sacrifice among the rites of the four years in Tro-Cortesianus 36b ([Pl. 24], fig. 12). In Tro-Cortesianus 70a ([Pl. 24], fig. 5), it is found in the act of eating fruit growing over the “young god.” In Tro-Cortesianus 100b ([Pl. 24], fig. 4), the bird is perched over the encased head of god C.
There seems to be a glyph used for the quetzal. In those drawn in [Pl. 24], figs. 10, 17, it is noticeable that the anterior part only of the head is shown. The first is a glyph from the tablet of the Temple of the Sun at Palenque, and at least suggests the quetzal by the feathers on the top of the head, as also [Pl. 24], fig. 13, a glyph from Copan, Stela 10, where the entire head appears in a much conventionalized form. Other glyphs are shown in [Pl. 24], figs. 14-16, in which there is a single prominent recurved feather shown over the eye, succeeded by a few conventionalized feathers, then one or more directed posteriorly. It is to be noted that whereas in many previous examples of glyphs the full drawing of the animal or bird has been found in connection with them, here with the quetzal glyphs there is no instance where a drawing of the bird occurs with them. A curious human figure ([Pl. 24], fig. 19), with a head decoration similar to the frontal curve and markings on the quetzal glyphs (fig. 14-16), may possibly represent this bird in some relation.