Band-tailed Guan

About the Band-tailed Guan

The band-tailed guan (Penelope argyrotis) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. The band-tailed guan is closely related to bearded guan (Penelope barbata) and they at times have been considered conspecific. The band-tailed guan has three subspecies, the nominate P. a. argyrotis, P. a. albicauda, and P. a. colombiana. The last of these has sometimes been treated as a separate species, and two other subspecies split from albicauda and colombiana have been proposed, but these treatments have not gained support.

The band-tailed guan is 50 to 61 cm (1.6 to 2.0 ft) long. Males weigh 686 to 981 g (1.5 to 2.2 lb) and females 625 to 900 g (1.4 to 2.0 lb). The nominate subspecies' upperparts are blackish-brown to dark rufous with conspicuous white streaks. Its breast is olive brown and belly is pale to medium brown. Its face is pale grey to white and it has a prominent red dewlap. It gets its name from the wide chestnut band across the end of the tail. P. a. albicauda differs from the nominate by having buffy tips on the tail feathers. P. a. colombiana has more... Wikipedia →