Yellow-billed Cotinga
Carpodectes antoniae
Male is entirely snowy white with stout yellow bill. Female also has yellow bill, but body is entirely pale gray with obvious white edges on wing feathers. Rather chunky body with short tail and smoothly rounded head, large black eye. Flies with unique, slow and deep wingbeats. Distinctive in limited range. Found in canopy of forests and mangroves; often seen around fruiting trees. Frequently perches conspicuously. Quiet.
Identification
The yellow-billed cotinga grows to an adult length of about 8 inches (20 cm). The male has the crown of the head suffused with pearly-grey, but otherwise the plumage closely resembles the much more common snowy cotinga (Carpodectes nitidus), being pure white. However, this bird has a yellow beak, rather than the bluish-grey bill of the snowy cotinga. The female resembles the female snowy cotinga, with its pale brownish-grey upper parts, and greyish-white underparts; it also has a yellow beak.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Carpodectes antoniae
- Authority
- Ridgway, 1884
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cotingidae
- Genus
- Carpodectes
Range and habitat
The yellow-billed cotinga is endemic to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and the extreme west of Panama. It occurs in a number of small, separate enclaves, the most northerly of which is in Costa Rica at the mouth of the Tárcoles River and in the Carara National Park nearby. The largest populations are in the area of the Golfo Dulce and the Osa Peninsula, and the main nesting area is at the mouth of the Sierpe River. There are several other locations in Costa Rica where it occurs and it has been seen in Panama, but sightings there are sporadic. It mostly inhabits mangrove forests but is sometimes seen in scrubland and adjacent lowland forests, and occasionally in isolated trees in more open countryside.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The behaviour of this bird has been little studied. The males (and sometimes the females) perch high in trees by the Sierpe River and fly back and forth low over the water. A swooping form of flight has been observed which is possibly a courtship display.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
White-bellied Piculet
Picumnus spilogaster
Tiny woodpecker of gallery and coastal forests, including mangroves. Variable in appearance; generally told from other piculets by lack of barring or scalloping on belly, although many individuals have some barring on breast and irregular black spotting on flanks, whereas some are almost entirely unmarked below. Forages at middle and canopy levels, alone or with mixed-species flocks. Climbs along branches and vines, boring into decaying wood for insect prey.
Caatinga Black-Tyrant
Knipolegus franciscanus
Black flycatcher with a short crest. Males are glossy black with a white band across the flight feathers and red eyes. Females are brown above with a rusty rump and white below with dusky streaks. Found in dry forests in rocky areas, where males are usually seen perching conspicuously.
Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
The largest gull in the world. Huge, bulky, and large-billed. Adults have dark black backs and pale pink legs. Nonbreeding adults have very limited streaking on the head. Takes four years for immatures to reach adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Tends to look colder-toned overall, with more checkered upperparts and a whiter head than other immature gulls. Always note large size and thick bill. Most common along the coasts of the northeastern U.S. and Europe, but also occurs on large lakes (especially the Great Lakes). Often gathers in mixed flocks with other large gulls on beaches and mudflats.
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