White-crested guan

Description

The white-crested guan is a large bird and grows to a length of about 80 cm. It has a long crest of white feathers which gives it its name, bluish cheeks, black upper parts glossed with green, dark reddish-brown underparts and a long black tail. The voice is a raucous cackle, "eh-uh" or "u u u u u".

Distribution and habitat

The white-crested guan is endemic to Brazil. Its range is limited to the south-central and southeastern parts of the Amazon basin, although it just extends across the Rio Araguaia into the Cerrado ecoregion. Its habitat is tropical forest, mostly dense, solid-ground forest, but it sometimes also occurs in seasonally-flooded areas.

Status

The greatest threat faced by the white-crested guan is destruction of its rainforest habitat. As increasing amounts of forest are cleared and converted into agricultural land and cattle ranches, suitable habitat is reduced. The bird is intolerant of this and populations are fragmenting and declining. It is also hunted for food and captured for the aviary trade, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has raised its conservation status to vulnerable.

References

References

1. BirdLife International. (2016). "''Penelope pileata''".
2. "Recently recategorised species". Birdlife International (2012).
3. Ber van Perlo. (2 September 2009). "A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil". Oxford University Press, USA.
4. Kirwan, Guy M.. (2010). "''Penelope pileata''". Cornell Lab of Ornithology.