COTINGAS   -   COTINGIDAE

Sharpbill Oxyruncus cristatus cristatus Carlos Botelho SP, São Paulo state, Brazil. The experts are divided on whether this species belows with the cotingas, or deserves to be in  a monotypic family. SACC voted to separate it, but I'm including it here for convenience. (D2)

Hooded Berryeater Carpornis cucullata Macaé de Cima, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. A beautiful bird, and a characteristic sound of upland Atlantic Rainforest. It is rather local now, and doesn't occur in some places where you might expect it, such as Itatiaia NP. (D3)

Barred Fruiteater Pipreola arcuata arcuata Chingaza NP, Cundinamarca department, Colombia. Male. (S5)

Golden-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola aureopectus festiva Colonia Tovar, Aragua state, Venezuela. Male. This is the race endemic to the coastal cordillera of Venezuela, which is slightly brighter below. (D3)

Orange-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola jucunda Mashpi, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Male. A striking bird endemic to the Chocó region of western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits very wet cloudforest on the middle slopes of the Andes. (S8)

Orange-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola jucunda Mashpi, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Male. A striking bird endemic to the Chocó region of western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. It inhabits very wet cloudforest on the middle slopes of the Andes. (S8)

Black-chested Fruiteater Pipreola lubomirskii Santa Cecilia trail above Paquisha, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. Male. It primarily occurs on east slope Andean cloudforest in Ecuador, though also makes it into southern Colombia and northern Peru. (S6)

Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola frontalis squamipectus WildSumaco Wildlife Sanctuary, Napo province, Ecuador. Male incubating on a nest, 16-Feb-2009. Some researchers at WildSumaco discovered this nest by fluke, and we could get surprisingly close to it. The male and female (see below) regularly swapped out on the incubation duties. (D3)

Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater Pipreola frontalis squamipectus WildSumaco Wildlife Sanctuary, Napo province, Ecuador. Female incubating on a nest, 16-Feb-2009. (D3)

Red-banded Fruiteater Pipreola whitelyi kathleenae La Escalera (Sierra de Lema), Bolívar state, Venezuela. Male. It's colored totally differently from other members of the genus, probably because it evolved in isolation in the tepui region. (D3)

Scaled Fruiteater Ampelioides tschudii Buenaventura reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador. Male. A scarce, distinctive, and unique fruiteater of Andean cloudforests from Venzuela to Bolivia. (S7)

Peruvian Plantcutter Phytotoma raimondii Bosque de Pomac, Lambayeque department, Peru. Male. Possibly a young bird as it shows very little rufous on the underparts. A seriously endangered species, found only in arid woodland in northwestern Peru. (D2)

White-tipped Plantcutter Phytotoma rutila angustirostris Yavi, Salta province, Argentina. Male. A locally common species in drier woodland and scrub from Bolivia and Paraguay south to northern Argentina. (S6)

White-tipped Plantcutter Phytotoma rutila angustirostris Payogasta, Salta provinc, Argentina. Female. (S6)

Red-crested Cotinga Ampelion rubrocristatus Papallacta Pass, Pichincha province Ecuador. These birds are quite common in high Andean forest. The red crest is almost always laid back flat as it is in this photo. It is raised only in display, and even then usually only briefly. (S5)

Chestnut-crested Cotinga Ampelion rufaxilla rufaxilla Los Romerillos, above Zumba, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. Far rarer than its congener above, for inexplicable reasons. I have only seen it a couple of times. It is found locally in the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia, and occurs at lower elevations that the previous species. (S6)

Andean Cock-of-the-rock Rupicola peruvianus saturatus Manu road above San Pedro, Madre de Dios department, Peru. Male. An iconic South American species. It's amazing how long it took me to finally photograph one. They are quite shy, and while easy to see at a distance, they are hard to get close to. While you can get quite close to them at a lek, they usually display in the pre-dawn hours where there is almost no light to work with. This bird was feeding in a fruiting tree by the side of the road;  this shot was not particularly sharp, but it's a start. (S6)

Andean Cock-of-the-rock Rupicola peruvianus aequatorialis WildSumaco, Napo province, Ecuador. Female. (S7)

Guianan Cock-of-the-rock Rupicola rupicola Iwokrama Forest, Guyana. Male. He was perched near a lek, but it was the middle of the day, so he wasn't displaying. (D3)		Olivaceous Piha Snowornis cryptolophus mindoensis Refugio Paz de las Aves, Pichincha prov., Ecuador. Amazingly this species will now seasonally visit the fruit feeder in the reserve, though this shot was taken away from the feeders. (D3)

Purple-throated Fruitcrow Querula purpurata Río Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Female. (S8)

Purple-throated Fruitcrow Querula purpurata Rio Palenque Science Station, Los Ríos province, Ecuador. Male. (S7)

Bare-necked Umbrellabird Cephalopterus glabricollis La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica. This is probably a juvenile male. While not visible in this photo, from some angles it showed a small red spot on the throat. This is a rare and threatened species found only in Costa Rica and western Panama. It breeds at middle elevations in the mountains, but disperses into the adjacent lowlands during the non-breeding season. Photo taken on 25 Jan 2011. (S6)

Capuchinbird Perissocephalus tricolor 5 km west of San Isidro, Bolívar state, Venezuela. Male. One of the strangest birds in all of South America. If you haven't seen one (and even if you have), check out the incredible footage on David Attenborough's Life of Birds. (D3)		Spangled Cotinga Cotinga cayana Sacha Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male. It was perched in the tower tree. This is a bird that stays high in the canopy, so it's hard enough to see, never mind photograph, from the forest floor. (D2)

Banded Cotinga Cotinga maculata RPPN Estação Veracal, Porto Seguro, Bahia state, Brazil. Male. One of the world's rarest cotingas, restricted to a handful of sites in the Atlantic Rainforest of eastern Brazil. This bird was perched in the top of a fairly distant tree, and this photo was digiscoped at quite high power. (D6)

Chestnut-capped Piha Lipaugus weberi Chestnut-capped Piha reserve, Anorí, Antioquia department, Colombia. The newest member of the cotinga family; this species was described only in 2001. It is found only in cloudforest at the the northern end of the Central Andes in Colombia. The chestnut cap is often very hard to see in the field, but it is barely visible in this shot. (S6)

Rufous Piha Lipaugus unirufus unirufus Esquinas Lodge, La Gamba, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica. (S8)

Screaming Piha Lipaugus vociferans Rio Grande, Bolívar state, Venezuela. One of the most distinctive voices of Amazonian rainforest. It's also a commonly used in the background of Hollywood films, usually taking place far away from the Amazon! (D3)		Cinnamon-vented Piha Lipaugus lanioides Intervales State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil. Endemic to Southeast Brazil in the Atlantic Rainforest. (D3)

Rose-collared Piha Lipaugus streptophorus La Escalera (Sierra de Lema), Bolívar state, Venezuela. Female. The females lack to rosy collar, but have a cinnamon vent, which is barely visible here. (D3)

Black-and-gold Cotinga Tijuca atra Pico da Caledônia, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. Endemic to the highlands of Southeast Brazil. Males perch for extended periods giving a repetitive, high-pitched whistling song that is a characteristic sound of the high mountains. Click below to listen. (S6)

Gray-winged Cotinga Tijuca condita Pico da Caledônia, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. This rather dull cotinga has a tiny range in the mountains of SE Brazil, where it is restricted to a very narrow band of stunted forest just below treeline. (S6)

Bearded Bellbird Procnias averano carnobarba La Escalera (Sierra de Lema), Bolívar state, Venezuela. A singing male. (D3)		Bare-throated Bellbird Procnias nudicollis Estação Veracruz, Porto Seguro, Bahia state, Brazil. Female. The males are usually a lot more conspicuous, sitting on open perches, but I don't have a good shot of him yet. (D3)

Black-tipped Cotinga Carpodectes hopkei Humedal de Yalare, Esmeraldas province, Ecuador. Male. The black tips are best seen from behind, but you can see them on the wings if you look carefully. (D3)

Snowy Cotinga Carpodectes nitidus La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica, Male. A very distant shot (this image has not been resampled - these are the actual pixels). This beautiful cotinga lives in lowland Caribbean rainforest from Honduras to Panama. (S8)

Pompadour Cotinga Xipholena punicea Mitú, Vaupés department, Colombia. Juvenile male. He is starting to show darker red plumage on the breast and undertail coverts. He was participating in a communal display with two adult males. (S6)

White-tailed Cotinga Xipholena lamellipennis Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. Male. It occurs widely in the eastern part of the Amazon basin, but there are few easily accessible places where it can be found. They are regularly found in Carajás, especially in hilly areas where you can get clear views of the canopy. (D3)

White-winged Cotinga Xipholena atropurpurea Estação Veracruz, Porto Seguro, Bahia state, Brazil. Female. An endangered cotinga of the Atlantic Forest of coastal Brazil. The male is similar to the previous species, but lacks the white tail. (D3)

Bare-necked Fruitcrow Gymnoderus foetidus Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Male. Another characteristic Amazonian bird. While you can often see them flying over, you usually need to be in a canopy tower or walkway to get a nice, close view like this one. (D3)

Swallow-tailed Cotinga Phibalura flavirostris flavirostris Caraça reserve, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Males. One of the most beautiful and distinctive birds in all of South America. SACC puts this in Incertae Sedis. (D3)

Swallow-tailed Cotinga Phibalura flavirostris flavirostris Caraça reserve, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Male. A fascinating photo of a male incubating eggs on 30 Sep 2006. This is the only known member of the family where the male assists in incubation (Ref: HBW Vol. 9). (D3)

Swallow-tailed Cotinga Phibalura flavirostris flavirostris Caraça reserve, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Here's a shot of the same nest with the female on it. The female has olive wings and much less black on the face, not extending to the forehead. (D3)

Swallow-tailed Cotinga Phibalura flavirostris flavirostris Intervales State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil. Female. Another nest; this one was only about a meter off the ground in a small bush in a clearing. (Date: 1 October 2007). (D3)