Psophia leucoptera
The Pale-winged Trumpeter (*Psophia leucoptera*) is a striking, medium-sized, terrestrial bird endemic to the western Amazon Basin of South America. Averaging 45-52 cm (18-20.5 inches) in length and weighing around 1.1-1.3 kg (2.4-2.9 lbs), its most distinctive feature is a prominent, contrasting white patch on its secondary wing feathers, set against an otherwise dark, blackish body. In good light, the plumage on its mantle and neck often reveals an iridescent purple or green sheen, adding t...
The Pale-winged Trumpeter primarily inhabits undisturbed lowland tropical rainforests, favoring terra firme (non-flooded) areas at elevations typically below 500 meters.
Their diet consists predominantly of fallen fruit, a wide variety of insects (such as ants and beetles), other arthropods, and occasionally small vertebrates like lizards and frogs, all gleaned from the forest floor.
These are highly social and diurnal birds, moving through the forest in cohesive groups of 3-12 individuals, often roosting communally in trees at night. Foraging occurs almost exclusively on the forest floor, where they walk slowly, scratching through leaf litter and probing with their short, st...
The Pale-winged Trumpeter is a non-migratory resident of the western Amazon Basin in South America. Its primary range encompasses southeastern Peru, particularly east of the Andes in regions like Madre de Dios, extending into southwestern Brazil (states of Acre and Rondônia), and northern Bolivia...
Vulnerable
- Pale-winged Trumpeters are sometimes called 'Amazonian guard dogs' by local people due to their loud alarm calls and territorial nature, which can alert villagers to approaching intruders or predators. - They are one of the few bird species known to practice cooperative breeding, where multiple...