Caucaguan

Bestimmung

These are large birds, measuring c.75–85 cm in length, with the typical plump body, long tail and small head of the Cracidae species. The head, neck and mantle of the Cauca guan are dark grey, blending into the reddish chestnut colour of the rump, scapulars, wing coverts and upper tail surfaces. The primary flight feathers are greyish-brown. The undersides of the tail feathers are grey. The grey feathers of the mantle, throat, breast and belly are outlined in white, creating a scaled appearance. The bird has a prominent bright red gular sac which is larger than that of the Andean guan, a possible confusion species. The tarsi and feet are red, as are the eyes. The bill is dark grey.

Taxonomie

The bird was first formally described in 1911 by the American ornithologist Outram Bangs, based on the type specimen collected on 5 June 1908 by Mervin G. Palmer at San Luis in the Bitaco Valley of western Colombia. All four of the major taxonomic authorities recognize Cauca guan as a species.<p>The genus name Penelope derives from the Ancient Greek penelops - a type of duck which was said to have rescued Penelope after she was thrown into the sea. The species epithet perspicax is Latin for sharp-sighted.<p>The species is monotypic - no subspecies are recognized.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Penelope perspicax

Autorität

Bangs, 1911

Ordnung

Hühnervögel

Familie

Hokkos (Cracidae)

Gattung

Penelope

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

The Cauca guan is endemic to Colombia. Historically it was found in the Cauca River valley between Quindío Department and Cerro Munchique in Cauca, and on the Pacific slope of the Cordillera Occidental (Western Andes) in Valle del Cauca and Cauca. It may also have been present at the headwaters of the Magdalena River. By the 1980s it was thought to be extinct, but small surviving populations have since been found within the departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Quindío and Risaralda.<p>The altitudinal range of the Cauca guan is between 900 and 2500 metres above sea level. It inhabits humid primary and secondary forest, forest edges and tree plantations, including plantations of introduced species such as Fraxinus sinensis (Chinese ash) and Pinus patula (patula pine).

Zugverhalten

Standvogel

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Standvogel.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: rückläufig.

Bestandstrend

rückläufig