Guatemalan quetzal Guatemalan quetzal The quetzal (; code: GTQ) is the currency of Guatemala, named after the national bird of Guatemala, the resplendent quetzal. In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal bird's tail feathers were used as currency. It is divided into 100 "centavos" or "lenes" in Guatemalan slang. The plural is "quetzales". The quetzal was introduced in 1925 during the term of President José María Orellana, whose image appears on the obverse of the one-quetzal bill. It replaced the peso. Until 1987, the quetzal was pegged to and domestically equal to the United States dollar and before the pegging to the US
Golden-headed quetzal cavities from which part of the bird (head or tail) is usually visible. It can be difficult for the quetzal to find an appropriate site for their nest since the dead tree must be soft enough for them to carve but not too rotten as to be unable to support their nest. For this reason quetzals investigate multiple trees before finding a suitable site. The copulatory behaviour of quetzals is not well known since they appear to be discreet in their mating. The golden-headed quetzal has been observed breeding once a year between the months of February and June. The