Baudo guan

Species of bird

The Baudó guan (Penelope ortoni) is a species of bird from the family Cracidae. It is restricted to humid forests in the west Andean foothills of western Colombia and north western Ecuador. It is highly sensitive to hunting and habitat destruction, with large sections of the main distribution in the Chocó having already disappeared. Consequently, it is considered to be endangered by BirdLife International and IUCN. There are no confirmed recent records of its presence anywhere south of Pichincha in Ecuador. Territorial calls are made around dawn, a far carrying guttural bawling The birds warn each other of the approach of human with low, soft, and prolonged rising whistles. The alarm call of , is repeated several time, but is rarely heard. This alarm call is also shared by other Penelope species.

In the upper strata it forages for fruits in humid forests, in smaller groups.

Its closest living relatives are the Band tailed Guan (Penelope argyrotis), Cauca Guan (Penelope perspicax), Dusky legged Guan (Penelope obscura), White crested Guan (Penelope pileata) and the White browed Guan (Penelope jacucaca). All of these species can also be found in South America, ranging between Columbia and Brazil. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Andean Guan, but discovery of overlapping populations in western Colombia and southwest Ecuador with no evidence for introgression has led to specific treatment more recently. The scientific name commemorates the United States naturalist James Orton.

In Ecuador the species is protected by law. Many areas inhabited by the species are poorly known so a first priority for conservation has been implementing population monitoring programs and surveying areas of its habitat. This allows the identification of regions which are poorly protected at the moment and ma help extend protected areas in Nariño and Esmeraldas.