Black Guan
Chamaepetes unicolor
Large chickenlike bird found in montane forests. Entirely black plumage with blue facial skin, red eye, and reddish legs. Sexes similar. Unlikely to be confused: smaller and blacker than Crested Guan; lacks curled head feathers of Great Curassow; also found at higher elevations. Can be seen on the ground or in trees, usually in pairs or small family groups. Feeds on fruit.
Identification
The black guan is 62 to 69 cm (2.03 to 2.26 ft) long and weighs about 1,135 g (2.502 lb). Adults have all black plumage with contrasting bright blue facial skin around a red eye. Their legs and feet are pinkish-red. Juveniles are similar but less glossy and their underparts browner and their facial skin is blackish or dark brown.
Taxonomy
The black guan shares the genus Chamaepetes with the sickle-winged guan (C. goudotii) of western South America and may form a superspecies with it.
- Scientific name
- Chamaepetes unicolor
- Authority
- Salvin, 1867
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Cracidae
- Genus
- Chamaepetes
Range and habitat
The black guan is found from the Cordillera de Guanacaste in northern Costa Rica to western Coclé Province in Panama. It inhabits cloudforest in the Talamancan montane forest ecozone. It prefers steep terrain in the temperate, subtropical, and tropical zones, usually between about 1,000 and 2,250 m (3,280 and 7,380 ft) of elevation, but in some areas as low as 800 m (2,600 ft) and in others as high as 3,000 m (9,800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Western Bonelli's Warbler
Phylloscopus bonelli
Small, sleek warbler; white belly contrasts with olive and green upperparts. Very difficult to separate from Eastern Bonelli’s of Eastern Europe. Best character is the call, a two-parted whistle "hu-eef" instead of the sharp “tzip” of Eastern Bonelli’s. Song, a short trilled phrase, is also quite similar to Eastern Bonelli’s. Compare with other leaf warblers; note present species’ plain face, olive-green wing panel (but no bright wing bars), and bright white underparts. Breeds in deciduous forests with oaks and beech, as well as in mixed forest with pines. Non-breeding habitat includes open scrub and open woodlands.
Indian Thick-knee
Burhinus indicus
Large, bizarre-looking shorebird with streaky brown plumage and piercing yellow eyes. Black-and-white wing pattern visible in flight. Most active at dusk or at night, often hiding away under shady vegetation by day. Favors dry areas, including fields, thorn forest, and dry riverbeds. Vocal after dark; gives a rapid series of high, sharp ‘kli!’ notes.
Yellow-breasted Fruit-Dove
Ramphiculus occipitalis
A medium-sized dove of lowland and mid-elevation forest canopy. Distinguished by green upperparts, tail, thighs, and sides, gray crown and sides to the neck, yellow breast, maroon patch on the belly, and maroon stripe from the eye around the back of the head. Similar to Flame-breasted Fruit-Dove, but has a yellow rather than orange chest and pale gray in front of the eyes. Song is a deep, downslurred “woo-oo.”
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