Chestnut-crested Cotinga

About the Chestnut-crested Cotinga

The chestnut-crested cotinga (Ampelion rufaxilla) is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The chestnut-crested cotinga shares genus Ampelion with the red-crested cotinga (A. rubrocristatus). Early in the twentieth century some authors had placed both of them in genus Heliochera, which no longer exists.

The chestnut-crested cotinga has two subspecies, the nominate A. r. rufaxilla (Tschudi, 1844) and A. r. antioquiae (Chapman, 1924). The chestnut-crested cotinga is 18.5 to 23 cm (7.3 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 69 to 77 g (2.4 to 2.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a black crown with a long chestnut crest in the center. Their upperparts are olive gray with dusky streaks on the back. Their wings and tail are mostly black or blackish brown with chestnut lesser and median wing coverts. Their face, nape, and throat are chestnut. Their upper breast is gray and their lower breast and belly are yellow with black streaks except on the belly's center. Subspecies A. r. antioquiae is larger than the nominate, with darker chestnut areas and more... Wikipedia →