🐦

Spix's Guan

Penelope jacquacu

Least Concern

Wingspan

59.3 cm

Weight

1469.5 g

Family

Cracidae

Order

Galliformes

About

A large cracid (~1.5 kg) of family Cracidae, with olive-brown plumage and a red wattle. Inhabits lowland tropical rainforests across Amazonia in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Arboreal, feeding heavily on fruits, seeds, and leaves in the canopy. Least Concern; widespread and relatively common in undisturbed Amazonian forest.

Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Imperial
Wingspan	59.3 cm	23.3 in
Weight	1469.5 g	51.84 oz

Identification

Plumage

Predominantly dark olive-brown; bare reddish throat wattle; neck and breast streaked white; lower belly and flanks rufous; wing coverts with fine pale edging; tail long, dark brown.

Habitat & Range

🌲 Forest

Geographic Range

Resident in the Amazon Basin from Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia and Brazil. Found in lowland rainforest, especially along rivers.

Diet & Feeding

Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Amazonian lowland forests. Forages in canopy and mid-storey.

Conservation Status

Least Concern

IUCN Red List

Behavior & Breeding

Clutch Size

2-3

Sound

Song

Produces a loud, resonant honking cackle; wing-whirring display is vigorous. Calls are deeper and louder than smaller guans; echoes through Amazonian terra firme canopy.

Taxonomy

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Galliformes (Gamebirds)
Family	Cracidae (Chachalacas, Guans & Curassows)
Genus	Penelope
Species	Penelope jacquacu

Distribution

Spix's Guan has been recorded in 4 countries.

{# Distribution Map — simplified SVG world map with highlighted countries. Expects `country_codes` variable: list of ISO alpha-2 codes (e.g. ["US", "CA", "MX"]). Uses Alpine.js to toggle classes on country paths. #}

Present Not recorded

countries highlighted

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela

External Databases

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Spix's Guan eat?

Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Amazonian lowland forests. Forages in canopy and mid-storey.

Where does the Spix's Guan live?

Resident in the Amazon Basin from Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia and Brazil. Found in lowland rainforest, especially along rivers.

Is the Spix's Guan endangered?

The Spix's Guan has a conservation status of Least Concern.

What does the Spix's Guan sound like?

Produces a loud, resonant honking cackle; wing-whirring display is vigorous. Calls are deeper and louder than smaller guans; echoes through Amazonian terra firme canopy.

How big is the Spix's Guan?

The Spix's Guan has a wingspan of 59.3 cm, weight of 1469.5 g.

What order and family does the Spix's Guan belong to?

The Spix's Guan (Penelope jacquacu) belongs to the order Galliformes and the family Cracidae.