Cotingidae – Cotingas

Renowned for their vibrant and colorful plumage

Members of this family are found only in tropical Central & South America with diverse coloration, behavior, size, and calls. Where there are fruits, there are Contigas! Densely vegetated forests, humid tropical forests, open woodlands, coastal mangroves, and forest edges are their homes.

They feed on fruits, species like Plantcutters take in leaves and flowers too, and larger species may also include invertebrates.

Breeding is poorly studied in contigas. Many family species are polygamous, few are monogamous with biparental care, and one with a mixed-sex group cooperative social breeder.

Twenty-two cotingid species face conservation threats from habitat loss, logging, and forest conversion.