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 in reference to the impressive tail of the resplendent quetzal. Two subspecies are recognized, "P. a. auriceps" (Gould, 1842) and "P. a. hargitti" (Oustalet, 1891). The species name, "auriceps", comes from Latin "aurum" meaning "gold" and "ceps" meaning "crowned" or "headed", in reference to the golden head of "Pharomachrus auriceps." The golden-headed quetzal weighs between 154-182g. It has a wingspan of 30–36 cm and a length of 33–36 cm with tail plumes adding another 8–10 cm. Like other members of the genus "Pharomachrus", the golden-headed quetzal is known for its iridescent golden-green wings and breast, which can appear blue depending