Trinidad Piping-guan
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| Aburria pipile (Jacquin, 1784) |
The Trinidad Piping-guan, Aburria pipile (sometimes still called Pipile pipile), is a bird in the chachalaca, guan and curassow family Cracidae.
This species is only found on Trinidad; it is close to extinction. They are large birds, 60 cm in length, and similar in general appearance to turkeys, with thin necks and small heads. They are forest birds, and the nest is built in a tree. Three large white eggs are laid, the female alone incubating. This arboreal species feeds on fruit and berries.
Aburria pipile is mainly black with a purple gloss. The large crest is blackish, edged with white, and there are large white wing patches. The bare face and wattle are blue, and the legs are red.
The Trinidad Piping-guan's call is, unsurprisingly, a thin piping. The wings whirr in flight.
[edit] Taxonomy
Formerly, all piping-guans (with the possible exception of the Black-fronted Piping-guan) were considered subspecies of a single species, the Common Piping-guan (Pipile pipile). However, analysis of mtDNA, osteology and biogeography (Grau et al., 2005) shows that not only is the separation as distinct species warranted, but that the Wattled Piping-guan (Aburria aburri) is closer than the Black-fronted Piping-guan to the other species. Thus, the genera are merged under the older name Aburria.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2006). Pipile pipile. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered and the criteria used
- ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (2003): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6759-1
- Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Grau, Erwin T.; Pereira, Sérgio Luiz; Silveira, Luís Fábio; Höfling, Elizabeth & Wanjtal, Anita (2005): Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of Neotropical piping guans (Aves: Galliformes): Pipile Bonaparte, 1856 is synonym of Aburria Reichenbach, 1853. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35: 637-645. PDF fulltext
