Nombre en español: Cotinga Pechimorada

Nombre en inglés: Purple-breasted Cotinga

Nombre científico: Cotinga cotinga

Familia: Cotingidae

El cotinga pechimorado​ o pechimorada (en Colombia y Venezuela) (Cotinga cotinga), también denominado cotinga de pecho púrpura (en Perú) o cotinga de pecho morado,​ es una especie de ave paseriforme perteneciente al género Cotinga de la familia Cotingidae. Es nativo de América del Sur.

Distribución y hábitat

Se distribuye desde el extremo oriental de Colombia, sur y este de Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, Guayana francesa, y en Brasil al norte y este de la Amazonia (hacia el este hasta el oeste de Maranhão y hacia el sur hasta el extremo norte de Tocantins; el límite occidental es incierto); registros aislados en el noreste de Perú (San Martín) y oeste de Brasil (Rondônia, sur de Amazonas).​

Esta especie es considerada poco común en su hábitat natural, el dosel y los bordes del bosque tropical, incluyendo los de suelos arenosos, por debajo de los 600 m de altitud.​

Descripción

Mide 18​ a 19​ cm de longitud. El macho presenta plumaje azul cobalto, con visos negruzcos alrededor del ojo y las alas; la garganta, el pecho y la mitad superior del viente son de color púrpura. La hembra es de color marrón, oscuro en el dorso y las alas y claro en la garganta y las partes inferiores, con un entramado en el pecho y el vientre que presentan puntos oscuros rodeados de color claro, con apariencia de escamas.​ El macho emite un sonido fino con las alas cuando está en vuelo.

Purple-breasted cotinga

The purple-breasted cotinga (Cotinga cotinga) is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests.

Purple-breasted Cotinga is the smallest of the blue cotingas (genus Cotinga), as well as one of the least known. Much remains to be discovered about the basic life history of this species nothing is known about its breeding behavior, and very little is known about most other behaviors. Even its distribution is uncertain, as scattered sightings in areas further south and west than its previously known range have been reported in recent years. Like the rest of its cogeners, it possesses a striking combination of blue, purple, and black plumage; rarely vocalizes, although males produce a mechanical wing sound in flight; and can most often be spotted either on an exposed perch high in or above the canopy, or foraging at fruiting trees.

Field Identification

The Purple-breasted Cotinga is one of the smallest of the blue cotingas (genus Cotinga). Kirwan and Green (2011) also note that is has a slightly shorter tail and bill, and is smaller-headed. than other members of the genus, with a rather dove-like appearance overall. The male’s plumage is the only one in the genus to have a large unbroken patch of purple from the throat to the mid-belly; all other cogeners have either two separate patches or only a throat patch. Females are typical of the genus with their dull browns and grays, but appear much more scaled below than either the sister species Banded Cotinga (C. maculata) or the sympatric species Spangled Cotinga (C. cayana) (Kirwan and Green 2011).

As with other members of the Cotinga genus, the Purple-breasted Cotinga exhibits strong sexual dimorphism, with the males brightly colored and the females dressed in much duller hues; the females are also slightly smaller.

The following descriptions are based on Kirwan and Green (2011):

Male: Upperparts deep cobalt-blue from crown to uppertail-coverts. Black feather bases exposed mainly on crown and mantle, randomly on scapulars. Uppertail black. Wings black, with very fine blue fringes (usually only visible lesser coverts). Underparts dominated by large unbroken patch of deep purple across throat, breast, and belly, with the remaining area blue along with some exposed black feather bases on flanks. Undertail-coverts blue; undertail black.

Female: Strongly scaled appearance overall, also appearing spotted above at close range. Upperparts dark brown with whitish tips and fringes; greater coverts and tertials broader and pale grey-fawn. Fringes and tips of inner remiges and tips of rectrices pale fawn. Underparts dull buff-brown, with paler unmarked throat and darker scaling on breast. Undertail-coverts buff-brown and unmarked; undertail brown.

Immature: Similar to adult female. Male plumage maturation begins with brighter, more cinnamon flight feather tips (which soon wear off), followed by the appearance of patchy purple throat feathers and blue feathers along the mantle, back, uppertail-coverts, belly, and rear flanks. Full adult male plumage is achieved around the end of the first year.

Similar Species

The males of all seven species of blue cotingas (genus Cotinga) share similar blue/turquoise, purple/plum, and black plumage color schemes, unique within the Cotingidae; however, the male Purple-breasted Cotinga is the only one with a single large unbroken patch of purple plumage across its throat, breast, and belly. Both sexes of the Purple-breasted Cotinga most closely resemble the sister species Banded Cotinga (C. maculata); however, as the two species are wholly allopatric, there is no issue with confusing them in the field. Additionally, the deep purple of the underparts of the male Banded are interrupted by a blue band across the upper breast. There is significant range overlap between Purple-breasted and Spangled Cotinga (C. cayana), but the latter is markedly larger, and the males are brighter turquoise with a unique black plumage pattern, and purple is restricted to the throat. There also is range overlap with the Plum-throated Cotinga (C. mayana), but males of that species have only a small purple throat patch, and both sexes have pale irides, a unique feature within the genus (Kirwan and Green 2011).

Fuentes: Wikipedia/eBird/xeno-canto