Distribution

Crested Guan is resident from Mexico south to extreme northwestern Peru and to northern Venezuela. It occurs on both slopes in Central America, north to southern Sinaloa on the west slope and to southern Tamaulipas on the east slope. In Peru it is reported only from northern Tumbes (Parker et al. 1995, Walker 2002, Sánchez et al. 2012).

The elevational range of Crested Guan is from sea level up to 2000 m (Parker et al. 1996) or to 2500 m (Howell and Webb 1995), but it primarily is a lowland species.

Endemic to the Americas.

Crested Guan occupies a variety of forested habitats, including humid to semihumid evergreen forests, semidecidous forests, humid pine-oak forests, and gallery forests (Wetmore 1965, Stiles and Skutch 1989, Howell and Webb 1995, Parker et al. 1996).

The overall range of Crested Guan has not changed in historical times, but it has experienced many local declines or extinctions throughout its range due to hunting and habitat loss.

None reported of Penelope purpurascens. Fossilized cracids found in Tertiary deposits in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota (Tordoff and MacDonald 1957).