Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Taxobox
name = Andean Cock-of-the-rock
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_caption = Male at Wuppertal Zoo, Germany
image_width = 250px

---

image2_caption = Female
image2_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Cotingidae
genus = "Rupicola"
species = "R. peruviana"
binomial = "Rupicola peruviana"
binomial_authority = (Latham, 1790)The Andean Cock-of-the-rock, "Rupicola peruviana" [Some sources, for example the IUCN, give "peruvianus", in order to agree with the common gender "Rupicola", but this is a mistake. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ( [http://www.iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp?article=30 rule 30.1.4.2] ) states that an exception is to be made if the "author, when establishing the name, ... treated it as feminine in combination with an adjectival species-group name" which is the case here with the adjective "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.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=4530&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=50153 IUCN Red List]
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=4697 Andean Cock-of-the-rock videos] on the Internet Bird Collection