Spix's Guan

Spix's Guan ( Penelope jacquacu )

The Spixguan ( Penelope jacquacu ) is a chicken bird from the family of Hokkohühner. He comes to the forest areas in tropical South America and lives in rainforests, cloud forests, gallery forests and in clearings on which tree islands are left. In Venezuela, they come in heights of 100-1800 meters in front, in Colombia and Peru from the lowlands at the foot of the Andes at altitudes of 1500 meters.

Appearance

The Spixguane be 66 to 75 inches tall and 1.15 to 1.7 kg. Males and females are equal.

Way of life

They live separately, together in pairs or in small groups. Spix's Guane are among the few representatives of the Galliformes, preferably residing on trees and do not live on the ground.

Nutrition

The diet consists of seeds (especially palm seeds ) and soft fruits. They look for food in the middle and high regions of trees, rarely on the ground.

Reproduction

The breeding season is from January to April in Venezuela, Peru, it ranges from August to September. They build in trees up to 5 m height a simple nest of leaves. This two eggs are laid, which hatch the chicks after a four-week breeding season. After two years, they have grown up with a life expectancy of 20 years.

System

The Spixguan was discovered by the German naturalist Johann Baptist Spix on his expedition to Brazil in 1817-1820 and described thereafter. The Latin (scientific ) name refers to the name of a relative of the indigenous languages. This reflects not only the knowledge but also the appreciation of the indigenous languages ​​of Spix.

There are four subspecies, which differ in size and coloring.

• Penelope jacquacu granti - Guyana and the adjacent southern Venezuela to the east of the Orinoco.
• Penelope jacquacu orienticola - southern Venezuela and northern Brazil north of the Amazon.
• Penelope jacquacu jacquacu - Amazon Basin south of the Amazon.
• Penelope jacquacu speciosa - East of Bolivia.

The Spixguan forms with the Weißschwingenguan ( P. albipennis ), the Bronzeguan ( P. obscura ), the Caucaguan ( P. perspicax ) and the Rostbauchguan ( P. purpurascens ) a species circle.

Wildlife

The wildlife population is not threatened.