White-cheeked Cotinga

About the White-cheeked Cotinga

The white-cheeked cotinga (Zaratornis stresemanni) is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Cotingidae, the cotingas. It is endemic to Peru. The white-cheeked cotinga was formally described in 1954 and assigned to genus Zaratornis that was erected for it. Some late twentieth century authors merged Zaratornis into Ampelion but this treatment was not widely adopted.

The white-cheeked cotinga is the only species in its genus and has no subspecies. The white-cheeked cotinga is about 21 cm (8.3 in) long and weighs 46 to 57 g (1.6 to 2.0 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dirty brown-black forehead, crown, and lores. Their ear coverts are white to silvery and the rest of their face dark ashy brown. Their nape is ochre with heavy black streaks. Their upperparts are blackish with ochre to buff streaks. Their throat is dark ashy brown. Their underparts are rich ochre with heavy blackish streaks on the upper breast and sides; the streaks are narrower on the lower breast and flanks and absent from the undertail coverts. They have a dark to bright red iris, a stout, decurved bill with a lead blue base and a yellowish green... Wikipedia →