GUANS, CURASSOWS, AND CHACHALACAS   -   CRACIDAE

Gray-headed Chachalaca Ortalis cinereiceps Rancho Naturalista, Cartago province, Costa Rica. They are as common as chickens here! (D3)

Plain Chachalaca Ortalis vetula vetula East of Catemaco, Veracruz state, Mexico. This species is the only cracid to reach the US, occurring in the Rio Grande valley of southern Texas. (S5)

White-bellied Chachalaca Ortalis leucogastra Northwest of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Rufous-headed Chachalaca Ortalis erythroptera Cerro Blanco, Guayas province, Ecuador. Endemic to the Tumbesian region of western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Wanderers occasionally reach southwestern Colombia. (S7)

Chaco Chachalaca Ortalis canicollis pantanalensis Fazenda Santa Tereza (Pantanal Wildlife Center), Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The English name is misleading. While most of its range is in the Chaco, it is also a very common and noisy bird all over the Pantanal. This one is sharing a feeder with Yellow-billed Cardinal Paroaria capitata. (S6)

Speckled Chachalaca Ortalis guttata guttata Limón, Morona-Santiago province, Ecuador. (S6)

Band-tailed Guan Penelope argyrotis colombiana El Dorado Lodge, Santa Marta Mountains, Magdalena department, Colombia. Ranges in cloudforest in the mountains of northern South America. It gets its name from the rufous tips to the tail feathers. (S6)

Bearded Guan Penelope barbata Cerro Toledo, Loja province, Ecuador. Endemic to a small area of the Andes in southern Ecuador and northern Peru. Compared to Andean Guan P. montagnii (next photo), it has a mostly pale gray face. (D3)

Andean Guan Penelope montagnii atrogularis Reserva Geobotánica Pululahua, Pichincha province, Ecuador. This is a widespread species in temperate Andean forest, ranging from Venezuela to Bolivia. (S5)

Rusty-margined Guan Penelope superciliaris jacupemba Rio de Janiero Botanical Gardens, Brazil. A scarce and shy bird in most areas due to hunting pressure, but here in Rio's Botanical Garden they are very bold. The Garden was established in 1808, so the avian residents have had a very long time to lose their fear of humans. (S6)

Crested Guan Penelope purpurascens aequatorialis Arenal Observatory, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. I like this shot because it shows the crest of the bird, which is often not obvious. (S5)

Cauca Guan Penelope perspicax La Suiza, Risaralda department, Colombia. Once thought to be on the brink of extinction, this big guan has made a hug comeback in this area, where a group of municipal and private reserves protect over 500 hectares of cloudforest. (D3)

White-winged Guan Penelope albipennis Chaparri Lodge, Lambayeque department, Peru.. A critically endangered species, though it has been making a comeback thanks to a captive breeding and reintroduction program. They are now common and conspicuous at Chaparri. (S6)

Dusky-legged Guan Penelope obscura bronzina Hotel do Ypê, Itatiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The ones around the hotel are bordering on tame, since they put food out for them every day. This bird was so close that I had to settle for a head shot! (D3)

White-crested Guan Penelope pileata Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. Very few photos exist (that were taken in the wild) of this rare and local species. It inhabits remote areas of the eastern Amazon. (D3)

Chestnut-bellied Guan Penelope ochrogaster Fazenda Santa Tereza, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. While this bird probably occurs in Bolivia, I haven't heard of any records from there yet, so it still qualifies as a Brazilian endemic. It is most easily seen in the Pantanal. (D4)

Black-fronted Piping-Guan Pipile jacutinga Intervales State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil. A rare and endangered species that was once quite widespread, but now can be found in only few parks and reserves in the southern Atlantic Forest. (S6)

Blue-throated Piping-Guan Pipile cumanensis grayi Pantanal, Rio Três Irmãos, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The northern Pantanal is a hybridation zone between Blue-throated and Red-throated (P. cujubi) Piping-Guans. Many individuals show a mix of blue and red in their wattles. This one looked to be pure blue. (S7)

Black Guan Chamaepetes unicolor Bosque de Paz, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. This distinctive guan is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama. The only other member of its genus is the Sickle-winged Guan C. fagani of the Andes, which is shown in the next photo. (S8)

Sickle-winged Guan Chamaepetes goudotii fagani Refugio Paz de las Aves, Pichincha province, Ecuador. One of the more common guans, found in cloudforests in the Andes and the Santa Marta mountains. (S6)

Highland Guan Penelopina nigra Lagos de Montebello, Chiapas state, Mexico. A monotypic genus found from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. (S5)

Razor-billed Curassow Mitu tuberosum Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. A widespread bird in the Amazon region, mostly south of the Amazon river. They can be quite common in areas where they are not hunted. This bird was one of a pair that had come down to the edge of the Cristalino River to drink. (S6)

Great Curassow Crax rubra rubra Arenal Observatory Lodge, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. Male. The only species of curassow that occurs outside of South America, ranging from southern Mexico to NW Ecuador. (S8)

Great Curassow Crax rubra rubra La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica. Female. (S8)

Blue-billed Curassow Crax alberti El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. Male. Another critically endangered species, and one of the rarest birds I've ever photographed. Thanks to a new reserve established by ProAves Colombia, this species now has a spark of hope. (D3)

Blue-billed Curassow Crax alberti El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. Another shot of the same bird that shows the shape of the bill better. (D3)

Bare-faced Curassow Crax fasciolata fasciolata Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Male. This is one of a pair that had become habituated around the lodge, almost totally unafraid of people. Probably the easiest of all the curassows to see. As well as occurring in the eastern and southern Amazon, their range extends south into drier habitats. In much of the Pantanal they are no longer hunted, thanks to the growth of ecotourism, and at many lodges they have become rather common. (S6)

Bare-faced Curassow Crax fasciolata Rio Pixaim, Pantanal, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Female. I love the pattern of their plumage; it reminds me of an enormous antshrike! (S7)