Sickle-winged Guan vs Andean Guan

Chamaepetes goudotii compared with Penelope montagnii

Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Sickle-winged Guan Andean Guan
Scientific Name Chamaepetes goudotii Penelope montagnii
Order Galliformes Galliformes
Family Cracidae Cracidae
Conservation Status Least Concern Least Concern
Length — —
Wingspan 50.7 cm (20.0 in) 48.3 cm (19.0 in)
Weight 702.0 g (24.76 oz) 650.0 g (22.93 oz)
Diet Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, seeds, and leaves in Andean foothill and montane forests. Forages at … Eats fruits, berries, leaves, flowers, and buds in Andean cloud forests. Forages at all levels …
Clutch Size 2-3 2
Population Trend — —

Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

Sickle-winged Guan only

None

Andean Guan only

None

Song & Call Comparison

Sickle-winged Guan

Song

Emits a loud, resonant cackling call and loud wing-whirring. The guan call carries through Andean cloud forest; wing-whirring display flight is a diagnostic feature in the mountains.

Andean Guan

Song

Emits deep, resonant honking calls and loud wing-whirring display flights. Andean cloud forest echoes with both calls and wing-whirring at dawn across multiple Penelope guans.

Geographic Range & Migration

Sickle-winged Guan

Resident in the Andes from Colombia south to Bolivia at 1,500-3,400 m. Found in humid cloud forest.

Andean Guan

Resident in the Andes from Venezuela and Colombia south to Bolivia at 1,500-3,600 m. Found in humid cloud forest and montane scrub.

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Sickle-winged Guan

Least Concern

Andean Guan

How to Tell Them Apart

Sickle-winged Guan

Plumage

Dark chestnut-brown above and on breast; lower belly rufous-chestnut; bare blue facial skin around eye; wings distinctively curved sickle-like; no wattle; tail dark brown.

Andean Guan

Plumage

Dark olive-brown above; bare red throat wattle; neck and breast streaked white on dark background; lower belly and flanks rufous-chestnut; tail dark with slight gloss.

About These Birds

Sickle-winged Guan

A medium-sized cracid (~700 g) of family Cracidae, with sickle-shaped outer primaries and blue facial skin. Inhabits humid Andean cloud forests and forest edges from Colombia to Bolivia at 900–3,000 m elevation. Arboreal, feeding mainly on small fruits and berries. Least Concern; widely distributed in the Andean cloud forest zone and common in undisturbed montane habitats.

Andean Guan

A medium-sized cracid (~650 g) of family Cracidae, with dull brown-olive plumage and a bare red throat wattle. Inhabits Andean cloud forests and forest edges from Venezuela south to Bolivia at elevations of 1,200–3,500 m. Feeds on fruits, seeds, and invertebrates. Least Concern; widespread in montane Andes and one of the more commonly encountered Penelope guans.

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