About
Trumpeters are so called because they call out loudly when alarmed.
Endemic to the dense rainforest of the Brazilian Amazon, the elusive Dark-winged Trumpeter is threatened by the rampant habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation. Hunting is often perpetrated by loggers who have little to eat but bushmeat. Recent research suggests that if forest loss continues at its current rate almost 40% of the Amazon rainforest will be lost by 2050. This does not bode well for the critically endangered Dark-winged Trumpeter, which is found nowhere else in the world.
The species population is likely extremely small, and may now be restricted to two subpopulations. Previously three separate species of Psophia trumpeters were considered subspecies of a singular dark-winged trumpeter species. Changes in taxonomic status like this highlight the importance of preserving as many populations as possible in conservation work, as we could be losing species we don’t even know about.
- Order: Gruiformes
- Family: Psophiidae
- Population: 50-249
- Trend: decreasing
- Size: 45-52cm
- Weight: 1-1.5kg
EDGE Score
Distribution
Endemic to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, in two populations.
Habitat and Ecology
This species occur in the Amazon lowland rainforest, in large ranges. They are omnivores; feeding on arthropods, snakes and small vertebrates, as well as fruit. They have also been known to pick at carrion.
