Guan, or YACOU (Penelope), a genus of large game-birds (Gallinæ) of the family Cracidae, among the representatives in the New World of the grouse and pheasants in the Old. It is represented by fourteen species distributed from southern Texas through Mexico to Paraguay. The guans are graceful birds, with long tails, handsome, variegated plumage, bare, dilatable patches of skin on the throat, and naked spaces round the eyes. They live mostly on trees, descending to the ground in search of their food, which consists of fruits, berries, and insects. They are remarkable for their loud, frequent cries, from which the Spaniards call them squalling pheasants. Their flesh is much esteemed, and they fall a constant and easy prey to the hunter.