 The name translates literally as "quetzal serpent" although it is often rendered less accurately as "feathered serpent".The name derives from the Kʼicheʼ word "qʼuq", referring to the Resplendent quetzal "Pharomachrus mocinno", a brightly coloured bird of the cloud forests of southern Mesoamerica.This is combined with the word "kumatz" "snake".