Swallow-tailed Cotinga

About the Swallow-tailed Cotinga

The swallow-tailed cotinga (Phibalura flavirostris) is a species of passerine bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The swallow-tailed cotinga was long considered to be a member of family Cotingidae. However, for a time some taxonomic systems were unsure and separated it as incertae sedis. A study published in 2014 firmly placed it in Cotingidae.

The swallow-tailed cotinga's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treat the taxon as a monotypic species. The South American Classification Committee and the Clements taxonomy assign it two subspecies, the nominate P. f. flavirostris (Vieillot, 1816) and P. f. boliviana (Chapman, 1930). The IOC and HBW treat boliviana as a separate species and assign it the English names Palkachupa cotinga and Apolo cotinga respectively.

This article follows the monotypic species model. The swallow-tailed cotinga is about 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in) long and weighs about 43 to 60 g (1.5 to 2.1 oz). The sexes have different plumage though both have the eponymous long divided tail. Adult females have... Wikipedia →