Dusky-legged guan

Dusky-legged guan
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Cracidae
Genus: Penelope
Species: P. obscura
Binomial name
Penelope obscura
Temminck, 1815
Subspecies
  • P. o. bridgesi (GR Gray, 1860)
    dusky-legged guan (Bridge's)
  • P. o. bronzina (Hellmayr, 1914)
  • P. o. obscura (Temminck, 1815)
    dusky-legged guan

The dusky-legged guan (Penelope obscura) is a species of bird in the Cracidae family, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Uruguay, northeastern Argentina and southernmost areas of Paraguay and Brazil; a narrow disjunct range is in northern Argentina extending into south-central Bolivia.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Description

The bird measures an average of 73 centimeters in length and weighs an average of 1.2 kilograms, being very similar in appearance to its smaller relative, the rusty-margined guan (P. supercilliaris).

Diet

It eats fruit, flowers and buds taken from the ground or plucked from tree branches, and acts as a seed disperser for various species of trees and palms, such as the endangered palm Euterpe edulis, or the palms of the Syagrus genus (e.g. queen palm and licuri).[2]

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Penelope obscura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. (Portuguese) José Felipe Monteiro Pereira (2008) Aves e Pássaros Comuns do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro: Technical Books pp.48 ISBN 978-85-61368-00-5
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