Black-fronted Piping Guan
A species of Guan Scientific name : Pipile jacutinga Genus : Guan
Black-fronted Piping Guan, A species of Guan
Botanical name: Pipile jacutinga
Genus: Guan
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Don Roberson
Description
The black-fronted piping guan or jacutinga (Pipile jacutinga) is a bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae. This species occurs in Atlantic Forests in south-eastern Brazil and adjacent Argentina and Paraguay. It has become quite rare in recent decades due to hunting and habitat destruction (BirdLife International 2004). It is a large bird, some 63–74 cm in length, and similar in general appearance to a slim turkey with thin neck and small head. Pipile jacutinga is mainly black with a bluish gloss; it has a conspicuous white wing patch bearing 3 neat rows of tiny black dots. The large crest is whitish, and it has a red throat wattle with a dark blue patch at the front. Its naked whitish eye-ring and black-feathered face and forehead are unique in its genus. The legs and feet are red. No other piping guan is found in its range, though the Gray's piping guan (Pipile cumanensis grayi) approaches it in Paraguay. This bird has a pale bluish pendulous wattle, a smaller wing patch, and an entirely naked white face and white forehead.
Size
74 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Black-fronted Piping Guan's diet consists primarily of a variety of fruits, including palmito and wild figs, as well as seeds, grains, and occasionally insects and molluscs. Known to be an important seed disperser, black-fronted Piping Guan typically forages alone or in small groups, both in trees and on the ground, and may consume salt from mud.
Habitat
Black-fronted Piping Guan resides primarily within the Atlantic Forest biome, where it favors mature primary forests. It thrives in environments rich in palm species and typically occupies evergreen, gallery, and coastal forests in lowland areas and coastal ranges. Secondary growth areas and forested river corridors also serve as habitats, though less commonly. Tall restinga and pine monocultures are rare habitats for black-fronted Piping Guan.
Dite type
Frugivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Fruit
Photo By Don Roberson