Howdy, friends. Our bird this week was suggested by SheleetaHam. The long-wattled umbrellabird is a member of the Cotinga family, a large family of Central and South American birds with dizzying colors we are sure to cover in the future. Even after years of bird headers and all those colorful barbets, these were some really impressive-looking birds. Anyway, on to this week’s subject. Unlike its free-spirited hippie relatives, the umbrellabird is black, and males have black colored shafts in their feathers. These birds have short tails and both males and females have a large crest. Males also have a prominent wattle that can be retracted in flight, although photos I found of the bird flying seemed to show significant wattle. It appears it can be retracted somewhat, but not all the way.
This umbrellabird is found in coastal southwestern Colombia and along much of the coast of Ecuador in a local biodiversity hotspot called Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena. The area includes many different kind of biomes including both “moist” forests (a broad type which includes rainforests) and so-called “dry” forests, which recieve less rain and are typically made up of deciduous trees. This region is bounded to in the east by the Andes mountains. Here the long-wattled umbrellabird lives at altitudes between 1,500-1,800m (approx 4,900-5,900 ft) in mountainside forests. Our new word this week is endemism, as in, the long-wattled umbrellabird displays a high degree of endemism. This means it is found only in its specific habitat and no vagrants have been recorded outside of its range.
The umbrellabird feeds mostly on fruit, including local favorites like eucalyptus, guava and sassafras as well as various palms and lives in the canopy and midstory of the forests it inhabits.
Like some other birds we have covered, these birds participate in lek mating. This means the males will gather in a single area and get aggressive and territorial with each other. The biggest jerks among them will succeed in attracting a female. Nests are built in trees around 5 m (16 ft) above the ground, and each nesting attempt results in a single egg. The female will brood over the egg and feed the chick alone, feeding it every hour a more diverse diet than adults eat. In addition to regurgitating her own food, presumably berries, she will also bring the chick invertebrates and small vertebrates.
I found an academic paper about the mating habits of males, and while I didn’t have a chance to read it all, I will include the following somewhat lengthy excerpt detailing wattle extension and position during the lek.
The long-wattled umbrellabird is listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN. There are thought to be no more than 15,000 mature individuals, and deforestation, particularly in Ecuador, is considered a serious threat. Unfortunately, their lek-oriented breeding strategy makes these unique birds vulnerable to trapping.
Have a good weekend, everyone. Enjoy posting and remember, rest is not a reward.
LATE BREAKING BIRD UPDATE: As I was wrapping up this week’s header, an old friend of mine upon hearing about how the WPT rolls, told me about a family of ducks that had made their home in his backyard and specifically the pool. He sent me this very cute picture of the ducklings exiting the pool via an ingenious product called a frog log, and knew I had to share with you all. When last seen, the family was heading toward a local creek, and are presumably doing their duck thing in more suitable environs.
Links: https://tinyurl.com/5suj9shw, https://tinyurl.com/379azwy6, https://tinyurl.com/5n7hxarf, https://tinyurl.com/mr48h52h, https://tinyurl.com/bdhawnxc,
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