The white-throated piping guan is a near threatened species of bird in subfamily Penelopinae of family Cracidae, the guans, chachalacas, and curassows. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru.
Region
Southwestern Amazonia and Pantanal
Typical Environment
Occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru, favoring lowland forests and riverine systems. It uses gallery forests, seasonally flooded woodlands, and forest edges, and also visits secondary growth and palm-dominated habitats. Birds often concentrate along rivers and fruiting trees, including in varzea and semi-deciduous forests. Local abundance varies with hunting pressure and habitat continuity.
Altitude Range
0–1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
A large cracid of lowland South America, the white-throated piping guan plays an important role as a seed disperser for many forest trees. It is often shy and wary where hunted, but can be conspicuous at dawn when performing wing-whirring display flights. The species is threatened by habitat loss and overhunting across parts of its range.
Temperament
wary but social in small groups
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with gliding between canopy gaps
Social Behavior
Often seen in pairs or small family parties, especially around fruiting trees. Roosting can be communal on high branches. Nests are simple platforms placed in trees; clutch size is usually small. Courtship includes display flights and wing-whirring accompanied by soft calls.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are clear, fluty piping whistles, often given at dawn from exposed perches. Display flights produce loud wing-whirring or clapping sounds that carry through the forest.
Plumage
Mostly blackish with a greenish gloss, contrasting bold white throat and foreneck, and prominent white patches in the wings. Tail typically shows a whitish tip. Fine, short crest may be present. Bare facial skin is bluish, and the bill is pale with a darker tip.
Diet
Primarily consumes fruits from a variety of trees and palms, swallowing them whole and dispersing seeds over distance. Also takes seeds and occasionally flowers and tender leaves. Invertebrates are rarely taken and are a minor component. Foraging typically occurs high in the canopy but may descend to midstory or edges when fruiting trees are accessible.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in riverine and gallery forests, seasonally flooded woodlands, and along forest edges near fruiting trees. Frequently follows seasonal fruit availability, visiting palm groves and mixed-species fruiting patches.
