Blue Cotinga
Cotinga nattererii
Striking cotinga found from eastern Panama to northwest Ecuador. Male is deep sky blue with a dark purple throat and belly and mostly black wings. Female is much different: brown with scaly pattern above and spots below. Note large eye with pale eyering, short bill, and typical plump cotinga shape with short square tail. Typically found in the canopy of lowland forest, often perched conspicuously. Sometimes gathers at fruiting trees. Occasionally ventures into the foothills, up to around 1,400 m.
Identification
The blue cotinga is a plump, dove-like bird with a small head. It grows to a length of about 7 inches (18 cm). The male has glossy blue plumage and a black bib with a purple iridescent sheen on the throat and breast. There is a black ring round the eye, and the wings and tail are black with broad blue margins. On the belly there is a circular patch of purple. The female looks quite different; she is dark brown above, each feather having a pale margin which gives the bird a scaly appearance, and the underparts are pale brown with each feather having a buff margin. The turquoise cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi) is a similar species with which this bird might be confused, but it has a different range.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cotinga nattererii
- Authority
- (Boissonneau, 1840)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cotingidae
- Genus
- Cotinga
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The blue cotinga lives high in the canopy. It is mostly a solitary bird, but may sometimes be seen in groups on a fruiting tree; the diet consists of fruit, plucked while hovering briefly. The male often sits in a stationary position on a high perch on an emergent tree, under which conditions his brilliant blue colour may be indiscernible while he is silhouetted against the sky. This bird does not seem to have a song or call, but the male may, while in flight, make a whirring or rattling sound with his wings, perhaps a form of display.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Sternula lorata
Tiny and rather local tern of the Humboldt Current. Nests in small colonies amid bleak deserts near coast. Feeds mainly over inshore waters rather than along immediate coast, and thus not seen very frequently, but can be found on sandy beaches and at river mouths, sometimes with other terns. Identified readily by very small size and rapid deep wingbeats. Breeding adult smoky gray overall with white forehead and yellow bill. Immature and nonbreeding birds have a whiter body and reduced black on the head.
White-winged Scoter
Melanitta deglandi
Large scoter, with distinctive white patch on wing. Dark chocolate-brown overall; males are darker than females and have small white mark under eye, dark knob on the bill, and pink bill tip. Females have two rounded white patches on face. At a distance, separated from Surf Scoter by more sloping head shape and white in the wing. Winters on coastal waters and large freshwater lakes. Occasionally found on large inland lakes during migration. Dives frequently, feeding on mollusks and crustaceans.
Golden-crested Myna
Ampeliceps coronatus
Unmistakable glossy black bird with a dash of bright yellow on the head and wings. Male has more extensive yellow on the head than the female. Inhabits lowland to foothill evergreen forests where it forages in pairs or small flocks up in the canopy. Look out for their flashing yellow wing patches as they move between trees. Like other mynas and starlings, gives a variety of gurgles, croaks, and high-pitched fluid notes.
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