Snowy Cotinga

About the Snowy Cotinga

The snowy cotinga (Carpodectes nitidus) is a medium-sized species of passerine bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The snowy cotinga shares genus Carpodectes with the yellow-billed cotinga (C. antoniae) and the black-tipped cotinga (C. hopkei). One early twentieth century author treated them as conspecific but they have been otherwise treated as separate species. The three form a superspecies. The snowy cotinga is monotypic.

The snowy cotinga is 19.5 to 21 cm (7.7 to 8.3 in) long and weighs an average of 105 g (3.7 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males are mostly white with a light bluish gray crown and a very light bluish gray wash on their upperparts and wings. Their flight feathers are wide and have rounded tips. Adult females have a brownish gray head and upperparts with a darker crown. Their tail is blackish. Their wings are mostly blackish with white to grayish white edges on the coverts and inner flight feathers. Their chin is a very light gray; the rest of their underparts are a paler gray than their upperparts that becomes white on the flanks, belly, and undertail... Wikipedia →