Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Rupicola peruvianus

Brilliant orange males gather at leks and headbang at each other. Your message arrives via a rave in the cloud forest.

Population: Not numerically quantified by IUCN/BirdLife ("number of mature individuals: unknown"); species described as uncommon and patchily distributed, with current global population trend assessed as decreasing
Habitat: Humid montane and submontane cloud forest on Andean slopes, roughly 500-2,500 m elevation, typically near streams, ravines, and waterfalls with rocky outcrops used for lek display and nest sites
Fun fact: Peru's national bird, the male Andean Cock-of-the-rock gathers with other males at traditional forest "leks" where they bow, jump, and flap in synchronized competitive displays to win the attention of visiting females, who alone build the nest (from saliva mixed with mud and vegetable matter, plastered to cave/rock entrances) and raise the young.
Range: Andean cloud forest belt along the eastern Andean slopes from the Sierra de Perijá (Venezuela-Colombia border) south through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru to western/northern Bolivia; extent of occurrence approximately 2,610,000 km2 (IUCN Red List assessment), far exceeding the Vulnerable-category threshold
Diet: Primarily frugivorous, taking fruit from 50+ plant species (including Lauraceae, Annonaceae, Rubiaceae) plucked in flight; supplements with large insects, and occasionally small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards, especially when feeding chicks
Size: 0.32 m
Lifespan: 20 years

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