The dusky-legged guan (''Penelope obscura'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

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

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, northeastern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and southernmost areas of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and

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 ...

. In early 2021, the former subspecies ''P. o. bridgesi'', found in southwestern

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and northwestern Argentina, was elevated to species rank as

Yungas guan The Yungas guan (''Penelope bridgesi'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in the Andean foothills of Argentina and Bolivia. Taxonomy and systematics Prior to late 2020, the Yungas ...

Habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

Description

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 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. supercilliaris'').

Diet

It eats fruit, flowers and buds taken from the ground or plucked from tree branches, and acts as a seed disperser for various species of trees and palms, such as the endangered palm ''

Euterpe edulis ''Euterpe edulis'', commonly known as juçara, jussara (an archaic alternative spelling), açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, is a palm species in the genus '' Euterpe''. It is now predominantly used for hearts of palm. It is closely related to the aç ...

'', or the palms of the genus '' Syagrus'' (e.g.

queen palm ''Syagrus romanzoffiana'', the queen palm or cocos palm, is a palm native to South America, introduced throughout the world as a popular ornamental garden tree. ''S. romanzoffiana'' is a medium-sized palm, quickly reaching maturity at a height o ...

and

licuri ''Syagrus coronata'', commonly known as the ouricury palm, aricuri palm, or licuri palm, is a species of palm tree that is native to eastern Brazil, ranging from the southern part of the state of Pernambuco, into the state of Bahia, south to the ...

). Coffee beans digested by the bird are sold for high prices. https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-17/jacu-coffee-brazilian-bird-droppings-secret-ingredient-in-brew-worth-its-weight-in-gold.html

References

External links

Dusky-legged Guan videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

(for

) with RangeMap
Dusky-legged Guan photo gallery
VIREO
Photo-High Res
chandra.as.utexas.edu—"Birds of Brazil" dusky-legged guan Birds of the Atlantic Forest Birds of the South Region Birds of Uruguay Birds of Argentina Birds of the Selva Misionera Birds of the Southern Andean Yungas dusky-legged guan Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Galliformes-stub