FaunaHub

Trumpeter (Psophia crepitans)

BirdAmazonGround bird

Grey-winged trumpeter (Psophia crepitans), a dark, rounded ground bird of Amazonian forest.

Grey-winged trumpeter (Psophia crepitans).

Image: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Overview

Trumpeters (genus Psophia) are chunky, rounded ground birds of the Amazon rainforest, roughly the size of a chicken, with velvety black plumage, a hunched posture, and a short bill. The grey-winged trumpeter (Psophia crepitans), shown here, is a typical species. Their name comes from the males' deep, resonant, trumpeting or booming calls, produced with the help of an elongated, coiled windpipe.

Trumpeters are highly social and notable for their unusually cooperative group life, in which several adults help raise the young together.

Note: there are several trumpeter species; details here use the grey-winged trumpeter as a reference. Treat general statements as approximate and verify against authoritative sources.

Habitat & Range

Trumpeters live in lowland tropical rainforest of the Amazon basin and the Guiana Shield in northern South America. They are birds of the forest floor and lower levels, keeping to humid, shady interior forest, and they roost in trees at night but spend the day foraging on the ground.

Diet

Trumpeters are mainly frugivores, eating fallen fruit from the forest floor, and they also take insects and other small invertebrates. They often follow groups of monkeys, picking up fruit the monkeys drop, and they may attend swarms of army ants to grab fleeing insects. By eating and moving fruit, trumpeters help disperse seeds in the forest.

Behavior

Trumpeters live in tight social groups and are famous for cooperative breeding: a group may include several breeding adults, and group members share in defending territory and caring for chicks. They are mostly poor fliers, preferring to run and to roost in trees, and they keep in contact with loud trumpeting calls — also used as alarms, which makes them effective sentinels that other animals heed. They can be quite bold and curious.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Trumpeters are characterful, social forest birds and are sometimes kept around rural homes in their range as semi-tame “watch birds” for their loud alarms. In the wild they depend on intact rainforest and can be affected by hunting and deforestation, with several species declining. Consult authoritative sources for species-specific status.

More photos of the trumpeter

A grey-winged trumpeter on the forest floor in Suriname.

Grey-winged trumpeter (Psophia crepitans), Suriname.

Image: jeanpaulboerekamps, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Frequently Asked Questions — Trumpeter

Why are they called trumpeters?
For their calls. Male trumpeters give deep, resonant, trumpeting or booming sounds, produced with the help of an unusually long, coiled windpipe. These far-carrying calls are used to keep the group together, claim territory, and raise the alarm, and they give the birds their name.
Are trumpeters good fliers?
Not really. Trumpeters are primarily ground birds that run rather than fly, using their legs to move around the forest floor and only flying up to roost in trees or to escape danger. They are built for a terrestrial, social life in the rainforest understorey.
How do trumpeters raise their young?
Cooperatively. Trumpeters live in groups that often include several breeding adults, and group members work together to defend the territory and care for the chicks. This cooperative breeding is one of the most interesting aspects of their social behaviour.
What do trumpeters eat?
Mainly fallen fruit, which they gather on the forest floor, along with insects and other small invertebrates. They often follow fruit-eating monkeys to catch dropped fruit and may attend army-ant swarms to snap up fleeing insects, helping disperse seeds as they go.

Sources and further reading

Authoritative wildlife references used for general educational context. Conservation status should always be verified against current IUCN Red List data. External links open in a new tab.