CreatureData

Highland guan

Penelopina nigra (Fraser, 1852)

VUVulnerablebirds

The highland guan (Penelopina nigra) is a species in the family Cracidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh about 890 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Highland guan (Penelopina nigra)
Photo: Fernando Reyes Palencia · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the highland guan

Weight
890 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the highland guan live?

Not recorded

What is the highland guan?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The highland guan (Penelopina nigra) is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is found in the highlands of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. Its population has declined much in recent times: Listed as a species of Least Concern in 1994, it was uplisted to Near Threatened in 2000 and, as it was determined to be less common than previously believed, to Vulnerable in the 2007 IUCN Red List.

From the Wikipedia article “Highland guan” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highland_guan&oldid=1314705212), 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 highland guan endangered?

The highland guan is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the highland guan classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyCracidae
  6. genusPenelopina
  7. SpeciesPenelopina nigra (Fraser, 1852)

Synonyms Penelope niger, Penelopina nigra nigra

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • Black chachalacaEnglish
  • Black PenelopinaEnglish
  • غوان الأعاليArabic
  • غوان المرتفعاتArabic
  • guan d'altiplàCatalan
  • guan malýCzech
  • guan hvízdavýCzech
  • gwân ucheldirWelsh
  • ChalopehøneDanish
  • SchluchtenguanGerman
  • monta penelopoEsperanto
  • PajuilSpanish
  • Pava pajuilSpanish
  • lokut-nõlvahokoEstonian
  • ylänkösakuFinnish
  • Pénélope pajuilFrench
  • planinski guanCroatian
  • szurdokguánHungarian
  • Guan delle altureItalian
  • ヒメクロシャクケイJapanese
  • juodoji penelopinaLithuanian
  • BerggoeanDutch
  • smekkehokkoNorwegian
  • penelopinaPolish
  • jacu-da-montanhaPortuguese
  • guano-das-montanhasPortuguese
  • jacu-do-planaltoPortuguese
  • Малый гуанRussian
  • Чёрная пенелопаRussian
  • morkovec horskýSlovak
  • Brdski guanSerbian
  • bergguanSwedish
  • BergsguanSwedish
  • Kara GuanTurkish
  • пенелопа мексиканськаUkrainian
  • 山冠雉Chinese
  • 高原冠雉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the highland guan

Other species in the same family Cracidae.

CompareHighland guan vs Alagoas curassowHighland guan vs Blue-billed curassowHighland guan vs Great curassowHighland guan vs Horned guan

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the highland guan?

An adult highland guan weighs 890 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the highland guan endangered?

The highland guan is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the highland guan?

The highland guan (Penelopina nigra) 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.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Highland guan (Penelopina nigra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/highland-guan

MLA

“Highland guan (Penelopina nigra).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/highland-guan.

BibTeX
@misc{highland_guan_2026,
  title = {Highland guan (Penelopina nigra)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/highland-guan},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}