The Quetzal Dilemma

This is a quetzal.

It's a bird.

This is a quetzal in Wizard101.

It's a snake. With wings. (Sorry for the bad image quality.)

See the problem here? One's a bird, one's a snake-bird hybrid thing. A quetzal is a bird. I just don't get why KI would do this. This is what Wikipedia says on the quetzal:

"Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humidhighlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico also in Baja Verapaz, Guatemala . They are fairly large (all over 32 cm or 13 inches long), slightly bigger than other trogon species. Quetzals have iridescent green or golden-green wing coverts, back, chest and head, with a red belly. They are strongly sexually dimorphic, and parts of the females'plumage are brown or grey. These largely solitary birds feed on fruits, berries, insects and small vertebrates (such as frogs). Despite their bright plumage, they can be surprisingly difficult to see in their wooded habitats."

Although I can see where KI is going with this since they live in Central and South America, as did the Aztecs, where in that description does it say the quetzal is a snake? It doesn't. I find it much more likely that the reason KI made the quetzal a snake is because of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. 

Look! A bird-snake hybrid!

However, as simple as this is to figure out with some research, I've seen several threads on Wizard101 Central expressing confusion and frustration about this. It probably would've been better if KI made the quetzals birds, (besides, I want bird NPCs) but I think this is fine as long as people understand it. 

The quetzal is a bird. Quetzalcoatl is a bird-snake hybrid. So is the Wizard101 quetzal.

- Sophia E