Birds · Galliformes · Cracidae

Dusky-legged Guan

Penelope obscura

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The dusky-legged guan is a dark brown cracid with a bare red wattle covering the throat, native to the yungas and the Atlantic forest of the Southern Cone. It feeds on fruit in the canopy and helps to disperse large seeds. It is one of the traditional game birds of north-western Argentina and southern Brazil, and its population is falling because of hunting and logging.

Weight

1 kg – 1.6 kg

Size

68 cm – 75 cm

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

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.
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.
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.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Subtropical forest, yungas cloud forest and gallery forest of south-eastern South America
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 28 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 3 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_obscura