Guatemalan quetzal on August 20, 2007. The Bank of Guatemala has also introduced a 5 quetzal polymer banknote on November 14, 2011. 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,
Crested quetzal in altitude. It has been rated as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as it has a large range and its population appears to be stable. The crested quetzal is frugivorous. Adults raising young also catch more nutritious prey such as arthropods and small vertebrates; one such item recorded was the glassfrog species "Hyalinobatrachium pallidum". Crested quetzal The crested quetzal /ketSAHL/ ("Pharomachrus antisianus") is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae native to South America, where it is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane