Red-faced guan
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Penelope dabbenei

The red-faced guan (Penelope dabbenei ) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.

Appearance

The red-faced guan is 63 to 69 cm (2.1 to 2.3 ft) long. One female weighed 1,230 g (2.7 lb). It is rich brown overall with white or silvery flecking on the head, breast, and upper back. It has an obvious whitish supercilium, bare pinkish red facial skin, and the red dewlap that is typical of its genus.

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Biogeographical realms

The red-faced guan is found in a narrow band on the east side of the Andes of southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. It inhabits the cloudforest of the Yungas region and prefers extensive tracts of large trees. It does occasionally occur in smaller patches or in young secondary forest. In elevation it mainly ranges between 1,800 and 2,500 m (5,900 and 8,200 ft) but sometimes as low as 1,300 m (4,300 ft).

Red-faced guan habitat map

Biome

Red-faced guan habitat map
Red-faced guan
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Habits and Lifestyle

The red-faced guan is thought to be largely sedentary, but some altitudinal movement has been reported in Argentina.

Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

The red-faced guan usually forages in pairs but larger groups have been reported. It mostly forages in trees but also feeds on the ground. Its diet is mostly fruits and it also eats leaves and arthropods.

Mating Habits

The red-faced guan's breeding season has not been fully defined, but displaying and calling pairs have been documented between September and December. It builds a platform nest of twigs and stems lined with leaves and sited in a tree. The clutch size is three eggs.

Population

Population number

The IUCN originally assessed the red-faced guan in 1988 as Threatened but since 2004 has rated it as being of Least Concern. Though it has a restricted range, it occurs in several protected areas and its generally remote and inaccessible habitat make for less hunting pressure than most other guans receive.

References

1. Red-faced guan Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-faced_guan
2. Red-faced guan on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22678373/92770503
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/460368

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