Scimitar-winged Piha

About the Scimitar-winged Piha

The scimitar-winged piha (Lipaugus uropygialis) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the family Cotingidae, the cotingas. It is found in Bolivia and Peru. The scimitar-winged piha was originally described as Lathria uropygialis. Because of the species' unique wing structure, the describing authors suggested that subgenus Chirocylla be used for it. Later authors elevated Chirocylla to a genus for this species alone. By the late twentieth century it had been moved by most authors to genus Lipaugus and a 2014 molecular phylogenetic study confirmed its placement there.

The scimitar-winged piha is monotypic. It and the dusky piha (L. fuscocinereous) are sister species; the chestnut-capped piha (L. weberi) may also belong to that clade. The scimitar-winged piha's English name refers to the shape of its primaries, about which the original authors wrote, "The structure of the wing of this species is of so remarkable a character that it deserves a more lengthened notice." In males most of them bend outward in an arc like the weapon at their ends. The ends of the first two also narrow abruptly and those of the next four more gradually. Females' primaries are only... Wikipedia →