The juvenile quetzals do not develop their vibrant colors for some time and male quetzals do not fully develop their plumes for three years. The call is described as soft, deep, full and very powerful, with closely slurred notes. Females have weaker and more subdued tones. The quetzal has many different calls according to the situation it is encountering. Calling during mating season is of a whining or complaining nature, and both birds call nasally when they are going to replace each other at the nest.
Quetzals are most vocal during calm cloudy dawns, and misty afternoons.
On bright days they call very little, and during very windy days they hardly make any sounds. During its territorial call the quetzal melodiously whistles two hollow high-pitched notes, one ascending steeply and the other descending. The Quetzal is a relatively inactive bird who lives among lush vegetation, in very moist rainforest zones. They live in the trees that form the canopy of the rainforest. Pharomachrus mocino prefers to inhabit decaying trees, stumps, and sometimes old woodpecker hollows.