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SPECIES PROFILE
Blue Cotinga (Cotinga maynana)
Cotinga
IUCN STATUS
Least Concern
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
Year-round; males most visible during March–July breeding season when they display on exposed high canopy perches.
🎯 SIGHTING TIPS
Use a telescope from fruiting tree clearings in Soberanía at dawn; males perch prominently on emergent branches to display.
