Crested guan
Penelope purpurascens Wagler, 1830
The crested guan (Penelope purpurascens) is a species in the family Cracidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.75 kg to 2.06 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
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Quick facts about the crested guan
- Weight
- 1.75 kg – 2.06 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Frugivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the crested guan live?
Not recorded
What is the crested guan?
The crested guan (Penelope purpurascens) is a Near Threatened species in an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian megapodes or mound builders (Megapodiidae). It is found from central Mexico through Central America and in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
From the Wikipedia article “Crested guan” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crested_guan&oldid=1339390418), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the crested guan endangered?
The crested guan is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the crested guan classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyCracidae
- genusPenelope
- SpeciesPenelope purpurascens Wagler, 1830
Synonyms Meleagris cristata, Penelope cristata, Penelope purpurea
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- غوان متوجArabic
- guan crestatCatalan
- Köícjp
- guan chocholatýCzech
- gwân cribogWelsh
- Toppet PenelopehøneDanish
- HaubenguanGerman
- RostbauchguanGerman
- Krona penelopoEsperanto
- kresta penelopoEsperanto
- Pava moñudaSpanish
- Pava cojolitaSpanish
- Pava CrestadaSpanish
- suur-lotthokoEstonian
- isosakuFinnish
- Pénélope panachéeFrench
- Úrugut
- kudravi guanCroatian
- borzas sakutyúkHungarian
- Guan crestatoItalian
- Penelope crestataItalian
- カンムリシャクケイJapanese
- kuoduotoji penelopėLithuanian
- KuifsjakohoenDutch
- parykkhokkoNorwegian
- penelopa rdzawobrzuchaPolish
- JacuaçúPortuguese
- guano-de-cristaPortuguese
- jacu-de-cristaPortuguese
- jacu-de-penachoPortuguese
- Хохлатый гуанRussian
- Ржавобрюхая пенелопаRussian
- Рыжебрюхая пенелопаRussian
- Хохлатая пенелопаRussian
- šuan chochlatýSlovak
- Ćubasti guanSerbian
- tofsguanSwedish
- Tepeli GuanTurkish
- пенелопа чубатаUkrainian
- 紫冠雉Chinese
Relatives of the crested guan
Other species in the same genus Penelope.
White-winged guan
Penelope albipennis
Spix's guan
Penelope jacquacu
Andean guan
Penelope montagnii
Cauca guan
Penelope perspicax
Red-faced guan
Penelope dabbenei
Band-tailed guan
Penelope argyrotis
CompareCrested guan vs White-winged guanCrested guan vs Spix's guanCrested guan vs Andean guanCrested guan vs Cauca guan
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the crested guan?
An adult crested guan weighs 1.75 kg – 2.06 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the crested guan endangered?
The crested guan is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
What kind of animal is the crested guan?
The crested guan (Penelope purpurascens) belongs to the family Cracidae in the order Galliformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Crested guan (Penelope purpurascens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-guan
“Crested guan (Penelope purpurascens).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-guan.
@misc{crested_guan_2026,
title = {Crested guan (Penelope purpurascens)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crested-guan},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}