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)

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)

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 rutila San José de la Salinas, Córdoba province, Argentina. Male. Quite a common species throughout much of northern Argentina. (D3)

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)

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)

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)

Rufous Piha Lipaugus unirufus unirufus 4 km southwest of La Joya de Santa María, Oaxaca, Mexico. Not a particularly sharp photo, even though I had to use a flash since it was so backlit. This bird was aggresively responding to playback. (S5f)

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)

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)

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)

White-browed Purpletuft Iodopleura isabellae isabellae Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male. The purple tufts are usually barely visible at best. This male was very aggressively responsing to playback and was not shy about displaying his tufts. The purpletufts have now been transferred to the Tityridae, though I haven't gotten around to making this change yet. (S6)

White-browed Purpletuft Iodopleura isabellae paraensis Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. Apart from the near-mythical Kinglet Calyptura, the Purpletufts are the smallest cotingas, smaller even than a House Wren. This species lives in the canopy of tall Amazonian rainforest, so they are very frequently overlooked. (D3)		Buff-throated Purpletuft Iodopleura pipra pipra Angelim Reserve, São Paulo state, Brazil. This one is endemic to the lowland rainforests of Brazil, a habitat that has been reduced to a tiny fraction of it's original extent. Fortunately they are still easy to see in a few places. (D2)

Shrike-like Cotinga Laniisoma elegans elegans Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Male. One of the hardest cotingas to find. There are two races; the one pictured here is endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil. The other one is found in Andean foothill cloudforest, and seems to exceedingly rare even in pristine habitat. I've never seen it! Laniisoma has now been transferred to the Tityridae, though I haven't changed the galleries yet. (D2)

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)