Gallito de las Rocas Guayanés

Identificación

The Guianan cock-of-the-rock is a stout-bodied bird with a prominent half-moon crest. It is a sexually dimorphic bird. The male's crest is more pronounced than the female's and is bright orange. The males also have an orange-tipped black tail, black, orange, and white wings, a bright orange bill, an orange iris yellowing as it nears the outer edge, and silky-orange filamentous feathers of the inner remiges. Both sexes also have orange legs and skin. The less conspicuous female is dark brownish-grey overall and has a yellow-tipped black bill, a duller orange iris, and a smaller crest. One-year-old juvenile male looks similar to an adult female but has orange speckles over its body. After two years, the juvenile males become mostly orange with brown and grey spots. Males attain their definitive plumage at around three years. Juvenile females look almost identical to their adult counterparts. Guianan cocks-of-the-rock have a total length of approximately 30 cm (12 in) and a total weight of around 200 to 220 g (7.1 to 7.8 oz). The two species of cock-of-the-rock are allopatric, and therefore do not meet with one another. The plumage of the male Andean cock-of-the-rock is redder and its wings are mostly black, lacking the orange colouration seen on the male Guianan. The female Andean cock-of-the-rock is reddish brown rather than the brownish-gray of the Guianan.

Taxonomía

The Guianan cock-of-the-rock is one of two species of the genus Rupicola. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 as the type species of its genus. Its closest relative and congener, the Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus), is similar in body shape and colouration, though the two are wholly allopatric from each other. Their closest family relatives are the Red cotingas (Genus Phoenicircus). The two Rupicola species are in the subfamily Rupicolinae, which also includes other species of cotingas such as the before-mentioned Red cotingas (Genus Phoenicircus, which is a sister genus to Rupicola), Snowornis pihas, and the berryeaters (Genus Carpornis).

Nombre científico

Rupicola rupicola

Autoridad

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Orden

Passeriformes

Familia

Cotíngidos

Género

Rupicola

Distribución y hábitat

As suggested by its name, the Guianan cock-of-the-rock is found in the Guianan Shield, occurring in French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia, and northern Amazonian Brazil. Its preferred habitats are humid forests near rocky outcrops. They are normally found at an altitude of 300 to 2,000 m (980 to 6,560 ft).<p>The Guianan cock-of-the-rock has distinctive territorial markings. Males usually take dominance of an area on the ground, although sometimes they occupy middle strata in forests. They make their characteristic marking by clearing out debris from the ground, including twigs, leaves, and pellets. This area is called a "court". Quality of courts is known to have some influence on mate choice. The court quality is determined by the territory density and location to the center of activity in the lek. The reason for the focus on the center of activity in the lek is that successful males tended to own courts in the most densely clustered lek areas. Guianan courts are commonly found in the Guianan Shield, a forested region in northeastern South America.

Migración

Especie residente

Comportamiento

Patrón migratorio: Especie residente.

Conservación

Tendencia poblacional: estable.

Tendencia poblacional

estable