Rusty-margined Guan

About the Rusty-margined Guan

The rusty-margined guan (Penelope superciliaris) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, which includes the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Handbook of the Birds of the World taxonomies recognize the four rusty-margined guan subspecies listed in the box to the right. The Clements taxonomy does not recognize P. s. pseudonyma as separate but includes its population in the nominate subspecies. Birds in Brazil's Alagoas state are distinctive and might be a separate subspecies. The rusty-margined guan and the Marail guan (P. marail) form a superspecies.

The rusty-margined guan is 55 to 73 cm (1.8 to 2.4 ft) long. The nominate subspecies weighs 950 to 1,150 g (2.1 to 2.5 lb) and P. s. jacupemba 750 to 880 g (1.7 to 1.9 lb). The species' upperparts are dark olive to brownish with the eponymous reddish margins on the wing coverts and scapulars. The belly is also rusty. The face is pale with a supercilium whose color ranges from white to buff or ochre in the different subspecies. P. s. jacupemba paler overall than the nominate... Wikipedia →