[2] The taxonomies of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, and Handbook of the Birds of the World treat the red-throated piping guan as one of four species in genus Pipile.

[5] The red-throated piping guan is 69 to 76 cm (2.26 to 2.49 ft) long; P. c. nattereri weighs 1,100 to 1,300 g (2.4 to 2.9 lb).

The nominate subspecies is glossier than P. c. nattereri, with a blue sheen, and the white wing patches are smaller.

P. c. nattereri is found in western Amazonian Brazil in an area roughly bounded by the states of Pará, Goiás, Amazonas, and Rondônia and also in the eastern part of Bolivia's Santa Cruz department.

The red-throated piping guan's song is "a rising series of clear whistles", usually made in the morning.