The white-winged guan (''Penelope albipennis'') is a

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 chachalaca, guan and curassow

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cracidae The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are species of tropical and subtropical Central and South America. The range of one species, the plain chachalaca, just reaches southernmost parts of Texas in the Unite ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to northwestern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

History

The white-winged guan was originally known from three specimens collected in 1876 and 1877. It was not positively seen again until 1977, though there had been hints of its continued existence in 1969. Surveys from about 1980 on found individuals in many other locations than the 1977 sightings, though still within a small area.Angulo Pratolongo, F. (2020). White-winged Guan (''Penelope albipennis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whwgua1.01 retrieved September 27, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

At various times the white-winged guan has been considered closely related to the

crested guan The crested guan (''Penelope purpurascens'') is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian megapodes or mound builders (Megapodiidae). It is found in the Neotropics, in lowlands forests ran ...

(''Penelope purpurascens''),

Cauca guan The Cauca guan (''Penelope perspicax'') is a bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family, Cracidae. It is a large guan, and like most guans leads a mostly arboreal life in humid forests, where it forages for fruit and leaves. The Cauca guan ...

(''P. perspicax''),

Spix's guan Spix's guan (''Penelope jacquacu'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is "the prototypical cracid of the Amazonian lowlands."del Hoyo, J. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Spix's Guan (''Penelope jacquacu''), version 1.0. In Birds of the W ...

(''P. jacquacu''), and

dusky-legged guan The dusky-legged guan (''Penelope obscura'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Uruguay, northeastern Argentina and southernmost areas of Paraguay and Brazil. In early 2021, the form ...

(''P. obscura''). It was also treated as a color morph of Baudo guan (''P. ortoni''). More recent evidence confirms that it is a species in its own right and most closely related to either or both of crested guan and

band-tailed guan The band-tailed guan (''Penelope argyrotis'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The band-tailed guan is closely related to be ...

(''P. argyrotis'').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 The white-winged guan is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The white-winged guan has an average length of and average weight of . It has blackish brown plumage overlain by a green gloss. Much of its forepart has short whitish or pale gray streaks. Its white primaries show as a slash on the folded wing. Its reddish eye is surrounded by bare purple skin, its bill is dark gray with a black tip, and it has an orange

dewlap A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck of many vertebrates. More loosely, it can be various similar structures in the neck area, such as those caused by a double chin or the submandibula ...

Distribution and habitat

The white-winged guan is now found only in the departments of Lambayeque,

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

, and

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

in northwestern Peru. It is confined to an area that is at most long and wide and is divided by a major road and its accompanying human settlement. The 1876 specimen had been collected much further north than the current known area. The white-winged guan inhabits a very specialized landscape, small, forested ravines and nearby slopes on the west side of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. In elevation it generally ranges between but has been reported as low as and as high as .

Behavior

Movement

The white-winged guan typically begins calling before dawn and at first light moves from overnight roosts to feed until about 9:00. They are then mostly sedentary until late afternoon, when they typically feed again before roosting for the night.

Feeding

The white-winged guan is usually found in pairs or family groups, though several groups commonly will feed in one fruiting tree. It eats fruits, flowers, leaves, and seeds. Fruits of ''Ficus'' figs and ''Cordia lutea'' are the most important part of the diet because they are available during most of the year.

Breeding

The white-winged guan is territorial and mated pairs stay together over successive years. Their breeding season spans from November to May, a period which overlaps the resource-abundant rainy season. They construct a nest of twigs and leaves in vine-covered trees, typically about above the ground. The clutch size can be one to three eggs but two is the usual number.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The white-winged guan has three categories of vocalization, which are sometimes mixed or merged. They are most vocal at dawn and dusk during the breeding season. The territorial call "sounds like ''jar-jar-jar'' ending with a quick ''ha-ha-ha-ha''" and is usually given by the male. The alarm call "''piu-piu-piu'' or ''cau-cau-cau''" can be given in duets. The threat call is given as a direct challenge to a

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

intruder and "sounds like ''arrr, arrr, arrr''." The guan's non-vocal wing-drumming display is given at dawn and can be heard at great distances.

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 white-winged guan as Endangered, an improvement in 2018 from its previous Critically Endangered status. Its population of approximately 200 mature birds is believed to be stable. Several refuges have been created specifically to protect the species and reintroduction efforts have helped augment the current six to 10 locations that host the bird. However, habitat destruction and hunting remain as threats.

References

External links

BirdLife Data Factsheet
(for

—2 issues)
White-winged Guan photo gallery
VIREO
Chaparri Reserve
on the Conservation Projects at Chaparri Reserve {{Taxonbar, from=Q687020 white-winged guan white-winged guan Birds of the Peruvian Andes Endemic birds of Peru White-winged guan white-winged guan