Dusky-legged Guan

Penelope obscura

Large guan with a long tail and red throat wattle. Dark brown overall with an olive tinge to the upperparts and warmer brown belly. Unlike most other members of its genus, Dusky-legged has dull grayish legs. Note frosted forehead and variable thin white streaks on the neck and underparts. Found in lowland and foothill forest, including forest edge and scrub. Listen for loud, harsh calls and brays, often given in a series. Occurs from southeastern Brazil to Buenos Aires. Usually in pairs or small groups; often seen feeding at fruiting trees, but can be seen walking on the ground.

Identification

The bird measures an average of 73 centimeters in length and weighs an average of 1.2 kilograms, being very similar in appearance to its smaller relative, the rusty-margined guan (P. supercilliaris).[citation needed]

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Penelope obscura
Authority
Temminck, 1815
Order
Galliformes
Family
Cracidae
Genus
Penelope

Range and habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Speckle-fronted Weaver

Speckle-fronted Weaver

Sporopipes frontalis

A small, distinctive, sparrow-like weaver. The crown is black with white speckles, the back of the neck and collar are pale rufous, and the face shows a black moustache stripe. Found in dry or moderately moist savanna and woodland, usually in small flocks. The most common call is a short trill. The song is a pipit-like long series of rattling whistles. 

Cinnamon-rumped Trogon

Cinnamon-rumped Trogon

Harpactes orrhophaeus

Shy and inactive inhabitant of the lower levels of wet lowland and foothill forest. Male has a pitch-black head, orangey-brown back, and eye-catching scarlet breast and belly. Female has yellow underparts and a more grayish head. Very similar to Scarlet-rumped Trogon, but note Cinnamon-rumped’s uncontrasting brownish-orange rump. Song is a brief series of descending “tyaup” notes.

Halmahera Paradise-crow

Halmahera Paradise-crow

Lycocorax pyrrhopterus

A large, blackish, crow-like bird-of-paradise, endemic to Halmahera and adjacent smaller islands (not Obi and Bisa). Body is entirely blackish with paler, browner wings. Also often shows a thin line behind the eye. Shape is distinctive, with thin neck and small head with distinctive brow ridges. Juveniles are browner overall. Singles and pairs occupy canopy in forest, forest edge, and plantations in lowlands and hills. Brown cast to wings and head shape differentiate it from crows. In flight shows broad wings and an awkward, clumsy, hurried flight, unlike the slow flapping of crows. Calls include a hoarse “wek” and a high-pitched, nasal “we-huk.”

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