''Cotinga'' is a
genus of
passerine birds belonging to the
cotinga family, Cotingidae. It contains seven species that are found in
tropical rainforest in
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Central America from southern
Mexico to south-east
Brazil. They feed mainly on
fruit and forage high in trees.
They are long. The males have highly colourful
plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
; bright blue with areas of purple. The blue colour is produced by air bubbles in the feathers which scatter light. Females are much duller than males and are mainly brown, often with pale feather edges giving them a scaled or speckled appearance.
The wings of the males make a whistling or rattling noise in flight.
Deforestation is a threat to several members of this genus. The
turquoise cotinga
The turquoise cotinga or Ridgway's cotinga (''Cotinga ridgwayi'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, Repúbli ...
is classed as
Vulnerable
Vulnerable may refer to:
General
* Vulnerability
* Vulnerability (computing)
* Vulnerable adult
* Vulnerable species
Music
Albums
* ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997
* ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003
* ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...
by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
and the
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 ...
is considered to be
Endangered.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Cotinga'' was introduced by the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.
The
type species is the
purple-breasted cotinga
The purple-breasted cotinga (''Cotinga cotinga'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Su ...
.
The name is from the extinct
Tupi language for a "bright forest bird".
The genus contains seven species:
References
Bird genera
{{Cotingidae-stub