Purple-throated Cotinga (Porphyrolaema porphyrolaema)

Identification & Behavior: ~18.5 cm (7.2 in). The male Purple-throated Cotinga has the mantle, rump, and wings mottled with black and white. A white band along the wing borders the mantle. The head is black. The throat is purple grading to pure white towards the rest of the underparts. The female is brown heavily barred with black. The throat, vent, and undertail coverts are rufous. It forages in pairs in the canopy of floodplain and Terra-Firme forest. The female is similar to the female Spangled Cotinga and Plum-throated Cotinga but is distinguished by being heavily barred with black and by having rufous on the throat.

Status: The Purple-throated Cotinga can be uncommon in certain sites but is generally rare and widespread in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 450 m along the foothill of the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Cotinga de Garganta Púrpura.

Sub-species: Purple-throated Cotinga (Porphyrolaema porphyrolaema), (Deville and P. L. Sclater), 1852.

Meaning of Name: Porphyrolaema: Specific name given to this species Cotinga porphyrolaema Deville & P. Sclater, 1852. porphyrolaema.

See more of the Family Cotingidae