Black-and-gold Cotinga

About the Black-and-gold Cotinga

The black-and-gold cotinga (Lipaugus ater) is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is endemic to Brazil. The black-and-gold cotinga was originally described as Tijuca atra. By the late 1900s there were suggestions that genus Tijuca was a sister genus to Lipaugus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Tijuca was embedded within Lipaugus so taxonomic systems subsumed Tijuca into Lipaugus.

The black-and-gold cotinga is monotypic. The black-and-gold cotinga is 25 to 28 cm (9.8 to 11 in) long. The sexes are strongly sexually dimorphic. Adult males are entirely black but for a large golden yellow patch on the wing's flight feathers (remiges). They have a reddish brown iris, a bright orange bill with a slight hook on the end, and dark brown legs and feet. Females are overall dull olive-green which is yellower on the edges of the flight feathers and belly. They much resemble the monomorphic grey-winged cotinga (L. condita) and their ranges overlap. Their bill is a duller orange than the male's.

The black-and-gold cotinga is found in southeastern Brazil, ranging intermittently in extreme... Wikipedia →