White-throated Piping Guan - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Renato Santos
Bonito, MS, Brasil, 5 January 2021

Pipile grayi

Identification

Photo © by Francisco Paludo
Bonito, MS, Brasil, September 2016

60–69 cm (23½-27¼ in)

• Black plumage with greenish-blue gloss
• Large white wing patch
• White flecks on wing coverts and chest
• White patch over eye
• White nape
• Long wattle on throat and surrounding bare skin white to blue.
• White crest with brownish or blackish shaft streaks
• Pale blue bill, cobalt-blue at tip
• Red legs

Similar Species

Blue-throated Piping Guan differs in having a shorter dewlap that most often is blue but may have other colors, and a white wing patch with black barring. The white on crest and nape extends less strongly down the neck and has buffy streaks rather than black shaft streaks. Notice that in northern Pantanal and in SE Peru there is hybridization between White-throated and Blue-throated Piping Guans.
Trinidad Piping-Guan which is less black and not so glossy.

Distribution

South America: South-western Brazil to Bolivia, north-eastern Paraguay and south-eastern Peru

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

This species was formerly included in Blue-throated Piping Guan.

Habitat

Forests mainly close to water, but may be less strictly associated with water in Paraguay. Found up to 1500 m asl in Bolivia.

Behaviour

Feeds mainly in the canopy, consuming fruits. Will fly to search for fruiting trees, including across rivers.

Vocalisation

Sounds include both wing clapping and slow series of whistles.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.1)_red. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Kirwan, G. M., J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, D. A. Christie, and C. J. Sharpe (2022). White-throated Piping-Guan (Pipile grayi), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.butpig2.01

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-throated Piping Guan. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-throated_Piping_Guan

External Links

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