The Marail guan or Cayenne guan (''Penelope marail'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas,

guan Guan may refer to: * Guan (surname), several similar Chinese surnames ** Guān, Chinese surname * Guan (state), ancient Chinese city-state * Guan (bird), any of a number of bird species of the family Cracidae, of South and Central America * Guan ( ...

s, and

curassow Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. They comprise the largest-bodied species of the cracid family. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of ''Crax'' ranges north to Mexico. ...

s. It is found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.del Hoyo, J. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Marail Guan (''Penelope marail''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.margua1.01 retrieved September 27, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The Marail guan has the two subspecies listed in the box to the right. It and the

rusty-margined guan The rusty-margined guan (''Penelope superciliaris'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, which includes the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Taxonomy and systematics The Inte ...

(''P. superciliaris'') form a superspecies.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Description

The Marail guan is long. Males weigh and females . The back, wings, and central tail feathers of the nominate subspecies are dark with a greenish olive gloss. The outer tail feathers are bluish black. Its throat and chest are dark with white speckles and the belly reddish brown. It has a red dewlap. ''P. m. jacupeba'' is slightly smaller, paler, and more a grayish brown.

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of Marail guan is found from eastern Venezuela through

the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

. ''P. m. jacupeba'' is found in northern Brazil north of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

and possibly in southeastern Venezuela, although not all authorities accept the latter. It mostly inhabits mature tropical forest though it can be found in

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. In the Guianas and Brazil is favors '' terre firma'' forest with dense undergrowth. It is a bird of the lowlands, in Venezuela ranging between of elevation.

Behavior

Movement

The Marail guan appears to be sedentary. A study in Suriname found territories ranged in size from .

Feeding

The Marail guan forages singly or in groups of up to six, mostly in the canopy and lower levels of the forest but sometimes on the ground. Its diet is almost entirely fruits though insects are occasionally taken.

Breeding

The Marail guan's breeding season varies within its range. It appears to span from October to February in the Guianas and extend further in Brazil. It builds a cup nest high in a tree fork and lays two or three eggs.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The Marail guan gives a wing-whirring display, usually before dawn, and usually follows it with a barking "whaf, whaf, whaf". It also gives the barking calls at dusk.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the Marail guan as being of Least Concern. It is fairly common to common throughout its large range but like all guans is subject to hunting pressure.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1268396 Marail guan Birds of the Guianas Marail guan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot