Elegant Mourner (Laniisoma elegans)

Identification & Behavior: ~18 cm (7 in). The male Elegant Mourner or Shrike-like Cotinga has olive upperparts and a black cap (male) or olive (female). The underparts are yellow heavily barred with black (female) or barred on the sides of the underparts (male). It forages in the forest canopy where spends long periods of time motionless.  It has a superficial resemblance to a Scaled Fruiteater but is distinguished by being smaller without the patterned head and scaling of the latter.

Status: The Elegant Mourner is rare in montane forests and outlying ridges of the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 750-1800 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Plañidero Elegante.

Sub-species: Elegant Mourner (Shrike-like Cotinga) (Laniisoma elegans buckleyi), (P. L. Sclater and Salvin), 1880.

Meaning of Name: Laniisoma: Lanio= In reference to the Genus Lanius Linnaeus, 1758, shrike and Gr. soma, somatos= body. elegans: L. elegans, elegantis= elegant, fine.

See more of the Family Tityridae