BIRD IN GUATEMALA 
“MOOS” LIKE A COW 
Guan, Size of Small Turkey, Is 
Glossy Black Above and 
White Below. 
CHICAGO (A>). —A specimen of 
Derby’s guan, a rare Central Ameri¬ 
can bird of striking appearance, which 
has a call that sounds like the mooing 
of a cow, has been placed on view 
among the ornithological exhibits at 
Field Museum of Natural History, 
Chicago. The bird, called “faisan” 
by the natives, is the sole representa¬ 
tive of its genus and one of the most 
regal game birds in the Western 
Hemisphere, states Emmet R. Blake 
of the museum staff. 
The guan attains the size of a small 
turkey. Tt is glossy black above and 
white below and has a single broad 
white band across its large fan-shaped 
tail. A bare red spike, about 2 inches 
long, is borne upon the head of both 
sexes. Derby’s guan is known only 
from a few isolated volcanoes in West¬ 
ern Guatemala, says Mr. Blake. 
Highly specialized as to habitat, these 
birds never occur beyond the limits 
of the humid cloud forests which 
clothe the mountains at between 
7,000 and 9,500 feet. The bird’s 
strange call, which resembles the dis¬ 
tant lowing of a cow, is one of the 
most difficult sounds in nature to 
trace, Mr. Blake states. _ 
