Andean Cock-of-the-rock

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Male at Wuppertal Zoo, Germany

Female

Conservation status

Least Concern

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Cotingidae
Genus:	Rupicola
Species:	R. peruviana

Binomial name

Rupicola peruviana
(Latham, 1790)

The Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Rupicola peruviana, is a medium-sized, approximately 32cm (12½ in) long, passerine with a large disk-like crest and scarlet or brilliant orange plumage. It has black tail and wings, and pale grey scapulars. The female is significantly darker and browner than the male and has a shorter crest.

One of the two species in the genus Rupicola, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock is distributed in Andean cloud forests in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The diet consists mainly of fruits. The male is polygamous and displays in communal leks. The females build shallow nests with mud and plant material on the walls of rocks, hence the common name.

The Andean Cock-of-the-rock is the national bird of Peru.

Widespread throughout humid Andean forests, the Andean Cock-of-the-rock is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Rupicola peruvianus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 29 October 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern