Justification This species qualifies as Endangered because it has a very small range and population, which is fragmented and likely to be rapidly declining as a result of continuing habitat loss.

Family/Sub-family Cotingidae

Species name author (Müller, 1776)

Taxonomic source(s) SACC (2005 + updates), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996)

Identification 20 cm. Strikingly beautiful, dark blue cotinga. Male has bright, dark cobalt-blue upperparts, somewhat mottled black on back. Bright purple throat to mid-belly, dissected by blue breast-band. Rest of underparts and undertail-coverts blue. Black wings and tail with lesser and median coverts broadly edged blue. Female is dusky brown above scaled whitish. Slightly paler and buffier underparts with quite broad scaling, giving paler appearance. Indistinct, whitish eye-ring. Dark iris. Similar spp. Female White-winged Cotinga Xipholena atropurpurea is not as scaly, but more uniform grey, with white fringing on wings and pale iris. Voice Low, quiet cries reported.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

250-999

decreasing

780 km²

Yes

Range & population Cotinga maculata occurs in south-east Bahia and north Espírito Santo, with two recent records from northeast Minas Gerais (Santa Maria do Salto and Bandeira municipalities)^2,3 and none since the 19th century in Rio de Janeiro, south-east Brazil. It has declined significantly in abundance and distribution and is confined to a few protected areas, notably Sooretama, RPPN Estação Veracruz (formerly Porto Seguro) and Linhares Forest Reserve. It was not common even in the early 20th century and, given its fragmented distribution, overall numbers cannot be high.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It inhabits the canopy of primary, humid, lowland Atlantic forest, and is often observed along the edge of clearings, though this may reflect observational bias. The diet has been recorded as seeds, berries and fruit, but also includes caterpillars and other insects. A nest (a small platform of twigs placed in the fork of an almost horizontal branch in the canopy) attended by an incubating female was found in October. It has also been reported nesting inside an arboreal termite nest. Local movements, at least of part of the population, may have occurred in the past, but this is apparently no longer the case.

Threats The extensive and continuing deforestation within its range has isolated populations in a few key protected areas. In the past, birds were collected for feather-flower craftwork by local Indians and Bahian nuns. Capture for the cage-bird trade has also been considered a threat. The apparent scarcity of the species in trade during recent decades is probably a consequence of its rarity. One of the species's strongholds, Estação Vera Cruz, was recently purchased by a paper-producing company whose plans to clear the forest have apparently now been abandoned¹.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix I and protected by Brazilian law. It is present in four protected areas of which the Estação Veracruz in Bahia and the Sooretama Biological Reserve and adjacent Linhares Forest Reserve in Espírito Santo may be of critical importance. It is also found in the threatened Monte Pascoal National Park, Bahia, and may possibly occur in the Rio Doce State Park, Minas Gerais. 400 ha of forest at Bandeira, Minas Gerais has recently been protected⁴.

Conservation measures proposed Survey areas of suitable habitat within its range to locate further populations. Continue protection of Linhares and Sooretama, and plant native trees in surrounding areas.

References Collar et al. (1992). 1. F. Olmos in litt. (1999). 2. Ribon et al. (2004). 3. Ribon et al. (2005). 4. P. Develey and A. C. De Luca in litt. (2007).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoía y la categoría de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicación.

Text account compilers David Capper (BirdLife International), Rob P Clay (Guyra Paraguay), Rob Pople (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International), Rob Williams (BirdLife International)

Contributors Andre De Luca (SAVE Brasil), Pedro Develey (SAVE Brasil), Fabio Olmos

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Cotinga maculata. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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