Scientific Classification
- Common Name
- grey-winged trumpeter, common trumpeter
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Psophiidae
- Genus Species
- Psophia (loud noise) crepitans (rattle or clatter)
Fast Facts
- Description
- The grey-winged trumpeter is a tall bird with a mainly black body. This species has purple, green, and bronze on the lower neck and wing converts. The outer tertial and secondary feathers are gray.
- Size
- Approximately 43 to 53 cm (17.2 to 21.2 in.)
- Weight
- Approximately 1 kg (2.2 lbs.)
- Diet
- These birds feed predominantly on ripe fruit on the forest floor, but will also take arthropods and small vertebrates such as snakes..
- Incubation
- Approximately 4 to 7 eggs
- Range
- The species can be found north of the Amazon River in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana.
- Habitat
- These birds can be found in dense, lowland, moist forest away from human settlement.
- Population
- The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as uncommon. The population appears to be declining but is not severely fragmented.
- Status
- IUCN: Near Threatened
CITES: Not listed
USFWS: Not listed
Fun Facts
Their interesting name probably originates from the deep low sounds they use to communicate. One sound is used as a flocking call while the other is a threatening call.
Grey-winged trumpeters are non-migratory terrestrial birds.
These birds perform elaborate and noisy courtship dances involving strutting, leaping, and even somersaults in their excitement.
These birds are polyandrous, meaning that the females may mate with more than one male.
Grey-winged trumpeters rarely fly, but can run fast if necessary.
Ecology and Conservation
The primary threat to this species is accelerating deforestation in the Amazon basin as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production, facilitated by expansion of the road network.
In some areas, trumpeters are considered game birds. They do not seem to fear humans, nor are they good fliers. This makes them prime targets for hunters.
In some parts of their range, grey-winged trumpeters have been hunted to extinction.
Bibliography
Ellis, D. H., Gee, G. F., and C. Mirande. 1996. Cranes: Their Biology, Husbandry, and Conservation. Dept. Of Int., Nat'l Bio. Serv., Washington, D.C.
Rutgers, A. and K.A. Norris (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Aviculture. Vol. 1. Poole. Blanford Press. 1979.
InfoNatura: Birds, mammals, and amphibians of Latin America [web application]. 2004. Version 3.1 . Arlington, Virginia (USA): NatureServe. Available: natureserve.org/infonatura.
BirdLife International. 2016. Psophia crepitans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T45478181A95158441. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T45478181A95158441.en/. Downloaded on 15 November 2018.
Photo Credit: Grey-winged_Trumpeter_(Psophia_crepitans)_(6978546014).jpg. Sources: Wikimedia Commons. Image by: Bernard DUPONT. Year Created: 29 April 2012. Website: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grey-winged_Trumpeter_(Psophia_crepitans)_(6978546014).jpg. License: CC by SA 2.0.
