Cock-of-the-Rock

tags: , , ,

This is the fourth image of a passerine taken by this photographer.

Male Andean (red) Cock-of-the-rock, Rupicola peruvianus.

Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].

This dimorphic species is a medium-sized bird that is native to the cloud forests in the Andes Mountains in South America, being found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. This species is frugivorous and the females choose their mates from among a group of males that display on a communal lek. The species gets its name from the females' habit of building their mud nests on rock walls.

More like this

tags: White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis, birds, Image of the Day Fourth in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer. White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis. Image: John Del Rio [larger view]. The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "…
tags: Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus, birds, Image of the Day Third in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer. Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus. Image: John Del Rio [larger view]. The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates…
tags: Purple-Crested Turaco, Tauraco porphyreolophus, birds, Image of the Day First in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer. Purple-Crested Turaco, Tauraco porphyreolophus. Image: John Del Rio [larger view]. The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which…
tags: White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis, birds, Image of the Day Second in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer. A portrait of a White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis. Image: John Del Rio [larger view]. The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which…

yes, the bird grows a crest of feathers that swoop forward and down over the bird's beak. rather wild, huh?