About Pipile cumanensis grayi (Pelzeln, 1870)
This subspecies of blue-throated piping guan (Pipile cumanensis grayi) has been described as oddly prehistoric and reptilian, yet still handsome. Adults measure 60 to 69 cm (24 to 27 in) in length and weigh approximately 970 to 1,350 g (2.14 to 2.98 lb). It has a long neck and long tail, with a disproportionately thin, small neck and head and a disproportionately long tail. Males and females have identical outward appearance. Most of its plumage is blackish with a greenish blue gloss that is most prominent on the shoulders, wings, and tail. Its forehead, crown, and nape are white; the fringes of its breast feathers are also white. The outer wing coverts are white, forming a large patch on the folded wing, while the inner coverts have white spots. Bare white to cobalt blue skin surrounds the dark reddish brown eye. The bare skin that forms its dewlap ranges in color from white to cobalt blue, slaty purple, dark purplish gray, or black. Its bill can be pale blue with a black tip, or black with a pinkish and blue base. Its legs are colored reddish, brownish red, or rose. This blue-throated piping guan is distributed across far northwestern Bolivia, eastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, central and eastern Colombia, southern and eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northwestern Brazil. It inhabits humid tropical forest within the Amazon Basin, including terra firme, várzea, gallery, and semi-deciduous forest types. In the Guianas, it is also found in less forested coastal areas. It almost always lives within approximately 100 m (330 ft) of rivers. Its maximum elevation range varies across its distribution: it reaches 300 m (980 ft) in Bolivia, 400 m (1,300 ft) in Ecuador, 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia, 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Venezuela, and 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in Peru.
