Guans

All 3 species of guans on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 16 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• It is one of the main dispersers of large seeds in the Mesoamerican forests: it swallows fruit whole and deposits it kilometres from the parent tree, a service few birds in the region can provide.

  From

• The male performs a display flight at dawn, beating his wings with a characteristic mechanical whirring, a sound forest guides recognise before they see the bird.

  From

• Its size and its meat make it a prime target for subsistence hunting, and it disappears quickly from forests under hunting pressure even where the habitat remains intact.

  From

• The male performs a display flight at dawn in which he produces a drumming whirr with his wings, a mechanical sound that carries through the forest and marks his territory.

  From

• It is an important disperser of large seeds in the Atlantic forest and the yungas, and its disappearance reduces the regeneration of several trees of those forests.

  From

• Its meat is prized and it is one of the first large birds to disappear from a forest under hunting pressure, which makes it a good indicator of conservation status.

  From

• The male produces a whirring with its wings during courtship: it launches into a short, descending flight, beating its primaries so that they generate a mechanical drumming, a sound that does not come from the throat.

Ecosystems