Black Guan vs Band-tailed Guan
Chamaepetes unicolor compared with Penelope argyrotis
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Black Guan | Band-tailed Guan |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Chamaepetes unicolor | Penelope argyrotis |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 58.1 cm (22.9 in) | 52.8 cm (20.8 in) |
| Weight | 1135.0 g (40.04 oz) | 798.0 g (28.15 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fruits, berries, leaves, and small invertebrates in Costa Rican and Panamanian montane forests. Forages … | Frugivorous; eats fruits, berries, leaves, flowers, and buds in Andean forests of Venezuela and Colombia. … |
| Clutch Size | 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.
Band-tailed Guan
Produces a loud, honking cackle and resonant wing-whirring in display flights. The deep, carrying honk and wing-whirr display is characteristic of this Andean Penelope guan.
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.
Band-tailed Guan
Resident in the Andes and mountains of Colombia and Venezuela from 1,000-2,400 m. Found in humid montane forest.
Conservation Status
Black Guan
Band-tailed Guan
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 …
Band-tailed Guan
Brownish-black above with fine white streaking on neck and chest; bare red facial skin; lower underparts chestnut; tail broad with distinctive pale grey subterminal band.
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.
Band-tailed Guan
A medium-sized cracid (~800 g) of family Cracidae, with a distinctive pale-tipped tail band. Inhabits montane humid forests in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Andes of Colombia and Venezuela. Arboreal, feeding on fruits, seeds, and buds in the canopy. Least Concern; restricted to Andean cloud forest but common within its range and tolerates some forest disturbance.