Black Guan vs Alagoas Curassow
Chamaepetes unicolor compared with Mitu mitu
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Black Guan | Alagoas Curassow |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Chamaepetes unicolor | Mitu mitu |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Extinct in the Wild |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 58.1 cm (22.9 in) | 79.2 cm (31.2 in) |
| Weight | 1135.0 g (40.04 oz) | 2852.5 g (100.62 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fruits, berries, leaves, and small invertebrates in Costa Rican and Panamanian montane forests. Forages … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, seeds, and invertebrates in the ground and forest understorey. Extinct in wild; … |
| Clutch Size | 2-3 | 2-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Black Guan
Produces a loud, harsh cackling call and wing-whirring. Calls carry through Costa Rican and Panamanian cloud forest; deep cackling notes are lower-pitched than many Penelope guans.
Alagoas Curassow
Extirpated from wild (EW). Calls documented from captive birds: a deep, resonant booming similar to Razor-billed Curassow; flocks give low, guttural clucking contact calls.
Geographic Range & Migration
Black Guan
Endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama at 1,600-3,000 m. Found in humid montane forest.
Alagoas Curassow
Endemic to northeastern Brazil in Alagoas. Extinct in the wild; survives only in captivity. Last wild record was 1980s.
Conservation Status
Black Guan
Alagoas Curassow
How to Tell Them Apart
Black Guan
Uniformly glossy black throughout; bare bright blue facial skin around eye; no wattle or white markings; legs dark grey. One of the most uniformly coloured cracids; blue periorbital skin is …
Alagoas Curassow
Glossy black body; white lower belly and undertail; massive compressed red bill with orange-yellow tip; no head ornamentation. Now extinct in wild; the large red razor bill was its most …
About These Birds
Black Guan
A medium-large cracid (~1.1 kg) of family Cracidae, entirely sooty-black with blue facial skin. Endemic to montane cloud forests of Costa Rica and western Panama at 1,200–3,000 m elevation. Arboreal frugivore, feeding on berries and small fruits. Least Concern; restricted range but relatively common within Costa Rican Talamanca highlands and well represented in protected areas.
Alagoas Curassow
A large cracid (~2.9 kg) of family Cracidae, with glossy black plumage and a distinctive red knobbed bill. Extinct in the Wild; the last wild individuals disappeared from Alagoas, Brazil by the 1980s due to deforestation of the Atlantic Forest. A captive population survives in Brazilian zoos, with reintroduction programs underway. One of the most critically imperiled birds globally.