Guianan Red Cotinga

Overview

The Guianan red cotinga (Phoenicircus carnifex) is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae found in parts of South America. It is considered a year-round resident and is currently assessed as being of Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Adults possess distinctive forward-projecting forehead feathers that partially conceal the nostrils, along with prominent bristles around the base of the bill.
• Adult males feature a glossy bright red crown and underparts contrasted against blackish to maroon-brown upperparts, with a bright red tail that has a dark brownish terminal bar.
• Females are larger than males with duller plumage, displaying an olive face and upperparts with a dull reddish crown and rosy red underparts.
• The dawn call is described as 'pee-chew-eet', while alarmed birds produce a 'wheep' and lek displays involve a mechanical whirring sound from their wings.

Habitat

This species inhabits humid to wet lowland forest, reaching elevations of up to 250 m in Venezuela and 600 m in Brazil. Its range extends from eastern Bolívar state in far eastern Venezuela east through the Guianas and south into northern Brazil.

Diet

The Guianan red cotinga appears to feed exclusively on fruit, utilising species from at least eight different botanical families. It forages by plucking fruit while perched or by making short sallies.

Did you know?

The specific epithet 'carnifex' is Latin for 'executioner' or 'murderer', a name coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Males also engage in a dramatic lek display where they swoop between perches 8 to 12 m above the ground, leaning forward and drooping their wings and tail to create a mechanical whirring sound.