Purple-breasted cotinga
The purple-breasted cotinga is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The purple-breasted cotinga is monotypic. It and the banded cotinga form a superspecies or are sister species.Description
The purple-breasted cotinga is long; three individuals weighed. The sexes are dramatically dimorphic. Adult males have mostly deep cobalt blue upperparts with some black speckles on the crown and mantle. Their wings are black with very thin blue edges on the feathers; most edges are not visible. Their tail is black. Their throat, breast, and belly are deep purple and the rest of their underparts blue. Adult females are slightly larger than males. They have mostly dark brown upperparts with white feather tips and edges that produce a scaly appearance. Their wings are mostly dark brown with pale fawn tips and edges on most feathers. Their underparts are mostly dull buff-brown with a paler unmarked throat, darker scaling on the breast, and unmarked undertail coverts. Their tail is brown. Both sexes have a chestnut to dark brown iris and gray to dark gray legs and feet. Their short wide gray bill has a blackish tip. Immature birds are similar to adult females.Distribution and habitat
The purple-breasted cotinga has a disjunct distribution. By far its largest range extends from eastern Colombia across far southern Venezuela, and another arm extends from far eastern Venezuela across the Guianas. The two arms meet in northern Brazil, skirting much of western Amazonas state, and extending east to the north of a line roughly from central Amazonas to Bahia. It separately occupies a small range in eastern San Martín and southern Loreto departments of northern Peru. There are also scattered records in Brazil south of the large contiguous range. Some authors have speculated that the species is also in northeastern Bolivia but there are no records in that country.The purple-breasted cotinga inhabits the canopy and edges of humid forest, where it apparently favors forest on sandy soils. It will also forage in tall trees in forest clearings. In elevation it is found below in Colombia, below in Venezuela, and below in Brazil.