Blue-billed Curassow vs Andean Guan
Crax alberti compared with Penelope montagnii
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Blue-billed Curassow | Andean Guan |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Crax alberti | Penelope montagnii |
| Order | Galliformes | Galliformes |
| Family | Cracidae | Cracidae |
| Conservation Status | Critically Endangered | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 80.2 cm (31.6 in) | 48.3 cm (19.0 in) |
| Weight | 2650.0 g (93.48 oz) | 650.0 g (22.93 oz) |
| Diet | Frugivorous; eats large fruits, seeds, and invertebrates on ground of Colombian lowland forests. Critically endangered. | Eats fruits, berries, leaves, flowers, and buds in Andean cloud forests. Forages at all levels … |
| Clutch Size | 2 | 2 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Blue-billed Curassow
Produces a deep, resonant booming call; male gives guttural contact calls. Critically Endangered; voice rarely heard in the wild in remnant Colombian forest.
Andean Guan
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
Blue-billed Curassow
Endemic to northwestern Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and nearby ranges. Found in humid forest at 200-1,000 m. Critically endangered.
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
Blue-billed Curassow
Andean Guan
How to Tell Them Apart
Blue-billed Curassow
Male is glossy black with white belly and curly black crest; distinctive bright blue bill with no yellow knob. Female is barred black-and-chestnut with curly crest; blue bill separates it …
Andean Guan
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
Blue-billed Curassow
A large cracid (~2.7 kg) of family Cracidae, males black with a prominent blue bill and knob. Endemic to the lowland and foothill forests of northern Colombia. Forages on the forest floor for fruits, seeds, and invertebrates. Critically Endangered; one of Colombia's most threatened birds with severely fragmented populations due to extensive deforestation and uncontrolled hunting.
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.