Zwazo Nasyonal · National Bird
Kanson Wouj
Hispaniolan Trogon · Priotelus roseigaster
The Kanson Wouj, or Hispaniolan Trogon, is Haiti’s national bird. It lives only on this island. Its colors are Haiti’s: deep blue head and back, bright red belly, black-and-white tail feathers.
It is currently listed as Near Threatened. Habitat loss and deforestation are the main reasons. A small population still survives in the forested mountains of the Massif de la Hotte and the Massif de la Selle. Without real protection, those numbers will keep dropping.
The Kanson Wouj lives nowhere else on earth. Losing it would mean losing something that cannot be brought back.
Lajan Nasyonal · National Currency
Goud Ayisyen
Haitian Gourde (HTG)
The Haitian Gourde (goud in Kreyòl) has been Haiti’s currency since 1813. Before independence, Haitians used the livre, the French colonial currency. The word goud comes from the Spanish gordo — a reference to heavy colonial silver coins. One gourde divides into 100 centimes, just as a dollar divides into 100 cents.
The 1 gourde coin carries Haiti’s coat of arms and the motto Liberté · Égalité · Fraternité, inscribed with L’Union Fait La Force. The banknotes carry the faces of Haitian heroes — including Catherine Flon on the 10-gourde note, the woman credited with sewing the first Haitian flag in 1803.
The coat of arms appears on the back of every banknote, too.