The banded cotinga (''Cotinga maculata'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is endemic to southeastern Brazil. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss as its population is estimated to number between 250 and 999 mature individuals.

Description

Birds are around 20 cm long, and males are a bright blue with a black spotted back. The throat and belly are bright purple with a blue band across the chest. Females are a dull brown with some white mottling. The primaries are modified to produce a slight whir during display.

Distribution

The majority of the species is concentrated in the state of Bahia, with occasional records from the nearby state of Minas Gerais. It most likely once occurred in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, but has since been extirpated.

Ecology and behavior

It inhabits the canopy of the lowland

Atlantic forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, and has a diet of seeds, berries, especially from ''

Byrsonima sericea ''Byrsonima sericea'' is a species of semi-deciduous tree native to Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana, and French Guiana. Description The tree is medium-sized and usually grows 6–18 meters tall. Flowers are tall orange plumes which develop into sm ...

'' and ficuses, fruit, caterpillars, and other insects. It shares its habitat with other endemic birds, such as the

saffron toucanet The saffron toucanet (''Pteroglossus bailloni'') is a species of bird in the family Ramphastidae found in the Atlantic Forest in far north-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil, and eastern Paraguay. Taxonomy and systematics This species' scie ...

and

pin-tailed manakin The pin-tailed manakin (''Ilicura militaris'') is a suboscine species of bird within the manakin family, Pipridae. This species is endemic to the Eastern coast of Brazil within the humid Atlantic Forest, and its range extends from the State of ...

. The banded cotinga is not migratory and its nest is a simple cup.

Conservation

The greatest threat to the banded cotinga's survival is deforestation. Continued

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

has also complicated matters, sending populations into a sharp decline. Some protected areas, such as the

RPPN Estação Veracel RPPN may refer to: * Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural, a type of protected area in Brazil ** RPPN da Unisc, Santa Cruz do Sul University Private Natural Heritage Reserve * Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal * Rancudo Airfield (IATA code: ...

and

Reserva Serra Bonita Reserve wine is wine of a higher quality than usual, a wine that has been aged before sale, or both. Traditionally, winemakers would reserve some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term. In some countries the use of t ...

, are now thought to serve as bastions for this species.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet

banded cotinga The banded cotinga (''Cotinga maculata'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is endemic to southeastern Brazil. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss as its population is estimate ...

Birds of the Atlantic Forest Endemic birds of Brazil

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cotingidae-stub