Howdy, friends.  This weekend we continue our tour of the enchantingly colorful but poorly documented cotingas.  This week’s bird is the chestnut-crested cotinga.  Like one of our other recent subjects, it lives in narrow bands of rainforest, this time in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.  Like its fellow cotingas, it does not migrate and lives in humid mountain forests, at altitudes of between around 1,300 and 3,000 m (4,300 and 9,800 ft) between its two subspecies.  These contingas tend to stick to the tree line, although they forage for fruit and insects in the forest canopy, usually singly or in pairs.  They also eat some insects, which they catch on the wing.  

Little is known about mating and nesting habits, although a mating display has been observed.  It consisted of a male flying in a high arch from one treetop to another.  The single nest we know of was made from lichen and twigs, and the brood consisted of a single egg, which both parents cared for before it hatched.  Although I initially wrote that I wasn’t able to find a picture of the bird with its namesake crest perked up, I am happy to report that upon checking the photos I found, Past Dave was in fact able to hunt one down.

Both sexes of our flappy new friend have the same plumage.

The chestnut-crested cotinga is listed as of “least concern” by the IUCN.  It is thought to have a small and declining population, but has a large range and does not meet the standards for reassessment.  Its range is not contiguous, making it particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction.  

Be good to yourselves and others.  Have a good weekend, everyone.

Links: https://tinyurl.com/yc3xw5j3, https://tinyurl.com/zjkp24uk, https://tinyurl.com/3nrzhu5b,  https://tinyurl.com/39ux69dc, https://tinyurl.com/2dctp9fk, https://tinyurl.com/3fbyrcdd