The Amazonian umbrellabird (''Cephalopterus ornatus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Cotingidae native to the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

with a separate population on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The male bird is entirely black, with a black crest and inflatable

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australian English **''Acacia'' ***Black wattle, common name for several species of acacia ***Golden wattle, ''A ...

on the throat, and at , may be the largest

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird in South America. The female is slightly smaller. Both have an undulating flight, described as woodpecker-like, and the male has a loud, booming call. The Amazonian umbrellabird feeds on fruit and berries, and may opportunistically take insects and spiders. It forages singly, in pairs or in small groups, in the forest

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

, hopping from branch to branch, but is a secretive species and is more often heard than seen.

Description

Much larger than the female, the male Amazonian umbrellabird is likely the largest

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

as well as the largest

suboscine The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, a large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus '' Tyrannus''. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculat ...

passerine in the world. The male Amazonian umbrellabird grows to a weight of and a length of . The female typically stands tall and weighs up to . As in the other umbrellabirds, the Amazonian umbrellabird is almost entirely black, has a conspicuous crest on the top of their head, and an inflatable wattle on the neck, which serves to amplify their loud, booming calls. This species has pale eyes, whereas in other umbrellabirds, the eye is black. The undulating flying method of this species is considered quite

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

-like, with the lack of white on the umbrellabird's plumage distinguishing it from large woodpeckers with which it co-exists. The Amazonian umbrellabird is usually seen flying only across openings in the forest, such as over rivers, and usually boldly hops branch to branch while in trees.

Distribution

It is present in almost the entirety of the immense Amazon basin, from the Andean foothills of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, to the east to the south of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

(basins of the upper and middle

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

), locally in the southwest of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(eastward to the Negro and Xingú river basins, southward to southern

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

, reaching the headwaters of the

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

River).Handbook of the Birds of the World
/ref> This species occurs in two main populations: One found in woodland and forest, mainly near rivers, in the

, and a second found in forested foothills of the eastern

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. The Amazonian umbrellabird is found variously in small groups, pairs or individually. They are usually seen in or near the canopy, but due to their wary behavior and scarcity at open spots, they are easily missed for a bird of this size. They are heard in the field more often than they are seen.

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

and

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

are usually preferred, but

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s, and insect larvae are eaten opportunistically.

Gallery

File: AmazonianUmbrellabird.jpg , Podocarpus Reserve - Ecuador File: Cotingidae - Cephalopterus ornatus (Amazonian umbrellabird).JPG, Cephalopterus ornatus from Guyana File: Cephalopterus ornatus 1838.jpg, Illustration from "Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux"

References

* ''A Guide to the Birds of Colombia'', Steven L. Hilty & William L. Brown, Princeton University Press (1986). .

Description

Distribution

Gallery

References

Further reading