Cardellina Chiapas Birding Tours

Horned Guan

Oreophasis derbianus · Chiapas, Mexico

Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus) perched on a lichen-dense tree, Tacana Volcano, Chiapas, Mexico
© Sergio Gomez Villaverde

A large black-and-white cracid with a bizarre bright red "horn" emerging from its forehead, the Horned Guan is one of Chiapas's most vulnerable birds. Found only in the state's high-altitude cloud forests on slopes predominated by oaks, witch-hazels, and dendropanax, it is classified as Endangered by the IUCN. Fewer than 2,000 individuals remain as a result of habitat destruction and hunting. Its preference for steep slopes makes finding this species a physical challenge, requiring intense hiking and good knowledge of local flora.

Identification

Completely unmistakable. If you are looking at a large black-and-white cracid with a bright red horn, you've found a Horned Guan. Females and juveniles are told apart by their smaller horn, which emerges at four months. The unique appearance is due in part to its particular lineage within the Cracidae family, having separated from other members of the family some 20 million years ago and evolved independently ever since. Birds may move in pairs, but groups of up to ten individuals feeding at a single site have been observed.

Guide notes — Valente

The low humming call of the Horned Guan sounds like a phone vibrating on a wooden table. You'll only hear this if you move through the forest silently.

Distribution and habitat

The Horned Guan is known to occur in Chiapas and Guatemala, with some suggestions it may also occur in Oaxaca and parts of Honduras. Its global range covers under 7,000 km², making it one of the most range-restricted cracids in the Americas. Within Chiapas, the only reliable sites are the high-altitude forests of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve and the upper slopes of Tacaná Volcano.

Seasonality and finding the species

The Horned Guan is a year-round resident, believed to remain within established territories. Breeding season at Tacaná can begin as early as late December, while at El Triunfo it runs from February to March during periods of low rainfall, with nests reportedly built in the mid-canopy — though records remain rare.

Guide notes — Ben

Finding this species requires a high degree of patience and a very quiet approach, given that it scares extremely easily. It can sometimes be located by the presence of its droppings, which carry a distinctly fruity odour. Seeds of its preferred fruits, such as Nectandra reticulata, may also be found on the ground bearing claw and bill markings.

Conservation

With fewer than 2,000 mature individuals remaining, this species is teetering on the edge, especially here in Chiapas. Both El Triunfo and Tacaná Volcano are now considered biosphere reserves by Mexico's national parks authority, which should aid its protection to some degree.

Guide notes — Valente

Local guides in the region of Tacaná Volcano are frequently former hunters. Providing these guides with significant income through birding tourism, which depends on the Horned Guan's survival, is a genuinely helpful strategy.

The Horned Guan is the flagship target species on our Tacaná Volcano expeditions, and a key draw on multi-day bespoke itineraries into the highlands of Chiapas.

See our Chiapas birding tours

Sources

  1. BirdLife International (2024). Species factsheet: Horned Guan Oreophasis derbianus. datazone.birdlife.org
  2. Hoyo, J. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. doi.org/10.2173/bow.horgua1.01