White-cheeked Cotinga (Zaratornis stresemanni)

Identification & Behavior: ~21.5 cm (8.4 in). The White-cheeked Cotinga has bold black spots and streaks on the upperparts and underparts. It has a black cap and white sides of the head and cheeks. The throat and breast are gray and grade to rusty towards the center of the lower belly. It has a pale silvery bill. It forages in Polylepis woodlands and associated vegetation. Its plumage is unique in its range where it locally overlaps with the Red-crested Cotinga.

Status: Endemic. The White-cheeked Cotinga is generally rare but can be locally fairly common on the west slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 2700-4400 m

Name in Spanish: Cotinga de Mejilla Blanca.

Sub-species: White-cheeked Cotinga (Zaratornis stresemanni), Koepcke, 1954.

Meaning of Name: Zaratornis: Zarate (Bosque de Zarate) In reference to the type locality and Gr. ornis= bird bird. stresemanni: In honor of Prof. Erwin Friedrich Theodor Stresemann (1889-1972) German ornithologist, explorer, collector.

See more of the Family Cotingidae