Highland Guan
Penelopina nigra
Large, long-tailed game bird of humid evergreen forest in highlands and foothills. Mostly seen high in trees, as singles or pairs, where they can move quickly and slip away easily from view. Male is glossy black with bright red throat wattle and red legs (lacks whitish streaking on breast of the much larger Crested Guan). Female is barred brown and blackish overall. In spring, the male gives a piercing upslurred whistle, which it often alternates with an amazing crackling and crashing rattle in a gliding display flight.
Identification
The highland guan grows to a length of 590 to 650 millimetres (23 to 26 in). The plumage of the male is black, the upper parts glossed with green or blue, the underparts rather duller. The iris of the eye is reddish-brown and there is reddish-brown or purplish bare skin around and behind the eye. The beak, the bare skin on the throat, the large wattle, the legs and feet are reddish-orange. The female, by contrast, is black, heavily mottled and barred with reddish-brown and cinnamon, with a red beak and bare skin round the beak, and purplish bare skin round the eye.
Taxonomy
The three syntype specimens of Penelope niger Fraser (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1850 (1852), p.246, pl.XXIX.) are held in the collections of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession numbers D484 (male adult) and D484a (female adult) and D484b (male adult). The specimens came to the Liverpool national collection via the 13th Earl of Derby’s collection which was bequeathed to the people of Liverpool in 1851. D484 and D484a were purchased from Mess. Leadbeater in September 1843 while D484b died at the menagerie at Knowsley Hall on 5 August 1850.
- Scientific name
- Penelopina nigra
- Authority
- (Fraser, 1852)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Cracidae
- Genus
- Penelopina
Range and habitat
The highland guan is found on either side of the mountain ranges in Central America. In Mexico it is uncommon, but it is present in moderate numbers in the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. It is also common in some localities in Guatemala, but rather rarer in Honduras, north-central Nicaragua and El Salvador, and it may be extinct in El Salvador. Its habitat is humid broad-leaved mountain forests, mainly cloud forests and pine-oak forests, but it has also been observed in secondary forests and plantations. The bird forages for fruit, in the trees and on the leaf litter.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-faced Waxbill
Brunhilda erythronotos
Slim, pretty waxbill with a bold black facemask. Found mainly in dry thornscrub and woodland, especially in grassy areas. Usually in pairs or flocks of up to 30. Calls are a dry (often doubled) “tsip” and a whimsical, rising “tsew-tew-tweee”. Very difficult to separate from Black-cheeked Waxbill in the narrow zone of overlap in East Africa. Black-faced Waxbill usually shows more black on the belly.
Rusty-necked Piculet
Picumnus fuscus
Uncommon piculet of riverine and flooded forests, found only in a very limited area along the Brazilian/Bolivian border. Usually seen alone or in pairs below the forest canopy. Plumage generally brownish, but note the black top of the head. Male and female are very similar, except for the orange-reddish feathers in the male’s crown. Voice consists of 5–7 short, sharp whistles, dropping at the end: “tzi-tzi-tzí-tzí-tzíu.”
Rufous-winged Illadopsis
Illadopsis rufescens
A mid-sized, chunky, drably colored babbler. Has a white throat and pale gray underparts, often with some darker olive-brown on the breast. Found in the understory of rainforest at low and middle elevations, usually in pairs. Shy and skulking, and rarely seen unless searched for. Similar to other illadopsises, and best located and distinguished by voice. Visually most similar to Puvel’s Illadopsis, but found in different habitat, slightly smaller, and grayer, less buffy, on the underparts. Paler below than Brown or Pale-breasted Illadopsises. Most often detected by distinctive voice: a series of several whistles in an up then down pattern that is weirdly reminiscent of trying to start a car.
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