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SPECIES PROFILE

Blue Cotinga (Cotinga maynana)

Cotinga

IUCN STATUS

Least Concern

Blue Cotinga (Cotinga maynana) — Panama east through Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad to the Guianas and Brazil.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Least Concern

CLASS

Aves

GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE

Panama east through Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad to the Guianas and Brazil.

DIET

Omnivore

HABITAT

Lowland and foothill humid forest; Panama is close to the northern limit of its range.

🔬 Classification

PHYLUM

Chordata

CLASS

Aves

ORDER

Passeriformes

FAMILY

Cotingidae

GENUS

Cotinga

📋 Description

SIZE

Small passerine 19–21 cm; stocky build; sexually dimorphic.

COLORATION

Males: electric turquoise-blue plumage with deep purple throat and belly patch; females: dull brown with pale-spotted underparts.

ADAPTATIONS

Males have specialised feather microstructure that produces iridescent structural colour rather than pigment-based colour.

🌿 Ecology

HABITAT

Lowland and foothill humid forest; Panama is close to the northern limit of its range.

DIET

Omnivore

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE

Panama east through Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad to the Guianas and Brazil.

REPRODUCTION

Female builds a small cup nest high in the canopy; 1–2 eggs; female alone incubates and raises chicks for ~30 days.

DIET DETAILS

Primarily fruit, especially small berries; also insects and small vertebrates during breeding season.

⚠️ Threats & Conservation

PRIMARY THREATS

Deforestation reducing fruiting tree availability; trapped for the cage-bird trade in parts of its range.

💡 Interesting Facts

1

The Blue Cotinga's colour is caused by light scattering through the feather nanostructure — similar to how the sky is blue.

2

Males of some cotinga species perform elaborate lekking displays, with dozens of birds gathering to compete for female attention.

🔭 Sighting Guide

📍 BEST PLACES TO SIGHT

Pipeline Road, Soberanía National Park, Panama — one of the world's best birding roads with Blue Cotinga regularly encountered.

Canopy Tower eco-lodge, Soberanía National Park, Panama — roof platform at canopy level provides eye-level Blue Cotinga encounters.

Darién National Park (Cana Field Station), Panama — accessible by charter flight with extraordinary cotinga diversity.

🗓️ BEST TIME TO SIGHT

Use a telescope from fruiting tree clearings in Soberanía at dawn; males perch prominently on emergent branches to display.

🎯 SIGHTING TIPS

Year-round; males most visible during March–July breeding season when they display on exposed high canopy perches.