Red Crested Cotinga

Copyright: monacoeye • Yanacocha, Ecuador • Mar 2011 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Red Crested Cotinga
Latin: Ampelion rubrocristatus
Other:
Family: Cotingidae • Cotingas
Range: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
Similar:

I saw these two Red-crested Cotingas on shrubs beside the road up to Yanacocha, at about 3000m altitude. They tend be found at this kind of altitude in the Andes.

The Red-crested Cotinga is easy to identify - a grey, pigeon-sized bird, with long, lank, rufous feathers at back of head, and bright red irises. The red crest is often not visible though when the bird is viewed from the front. One was eating a winged insect.

We also saw a Red-crested Cotinga near Papallacta pass.