The white tailed cotinga is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is endemic to Brazil.
Region
Eastern Amazon Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland evergreen rainforest, especially terra firme and occasionally seasonally flooded forest. Most often seen in the upper canopy and along forest edges or gaps where fruiting trees are exposed. It can persist in selectively logged forest and larger fragments but is sensitive to extensive clearing. Records are patchy and local within its range, with greatest frequency around intact tracts of eastern Amazonian forest.
Altitude Range
0–600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The white-tailed cotinga is a canopy-dwelling frugivore of the eastern Amazon and is currently assessed as Near Threatened due to ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Males are conspicuously pale, while females are much more cryptic, making the species easier to detect by call than by sight. It plays an important role as a seed disperser in lowland rainforest. Sightings often occur at fruiting trees shared with tanagers and other cotingas.
Temperament
generally quiet and unobtrusive in the canopy
Flight Pattern
short direct flights between crowns with rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, but may join small mixed-species aggregations at fruiting trees. Breeding behavior is poorly known; males are thought to display from prominent perches. Nests are likely small and placed high in the canopy, with the female handling most incubation.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are soft and minimal, consisting of thin whistles and brief, plaintive notes. Calls carry poorly through dense foliage, making the species more often detected visually at fruiting trees.
Plumage
Male mostly pale to white with contrasting darker flight feathers and a clean white tail; female brownish-olive and mottled, with paler underparts and a whitish tail. Both sexes have smooth, sleek canopy-adapted plumage.
Diet
Primarily consumes small to medium-sized fruits and berries, including figs and arillate fruits, which it often swallows whole. Occasionally supplements its diet with insects gleaned from foliage. Acts as an effective seed disperser by passing viable seeds through its digestive tract.
Preferred Environment
Feeds high in the canopy at fruiting trees, along forest edges, and above gaps. Will also visit isolated fruiting trees in lightly disturbed or selectively logged areas.
