Fun Blue Cotinga Facts For Kids

Do you like colorful birds, like the blue and yellow macaw? Then we have all the information about the beautiful blue cotinga (Cotinga nattererii). The blue cotinga belongs to the Cotingidae family. It is found mainly in habitats, like humid lowland and heavily degraded former forest that is flourishing again.

They can be seen perched high above the canopy. They have an overall dove-like appearance. Males of these birds have an eye-catching shining blue and purple body, while the females have a brown and buff body. It's rare to hear blue cotingas as males of the species don't make any sounds at all. However, the females can be heard making loud shrieking noises. They are pretty common in the parts of the world they inhabit. However, that number is decreasing every day due to habitat loss.

Read on to know more about the blue cotingas, and if you like this article, then also check out our articles on the grebe and blue and yellow macaw too.

What type of animal is a blue cotinga?

The blue cotinga (Cotinga nattererii) is a species of bird.

What class of animal does a blue cotinga belong to?

The blue cotinga belongs to the class Aves of animals.

How many blue cotingas are there in the world?

The population range of the blue cotingas is thought to be around 50000-499999 mature birds. Although they are known to be pretty common in their habitat range, the population seems to have a decreasing trend.

Where does a blue cotinga live?

The geographical distribution of these birds is not very wide. They live within the parts of northwest Ecuador, from the Pacific lowlands to the eastern and central Magdalena valley of Colombia, central Panama, and the extreme west of Venezuela. These birds are not known to migrate.

What is a blue cotinga's habitat?

Blue contingas can only be seen above the canopy of secondary and humid forests. Secondary forests are usually the rebirth of a heavily degraded former forest. They can strictly be seen within an elevation of 0.2-0.6 mi (300-1000 m) and only in Venezuela, they can be seen within an elevation of 0.9 mi (1400 m). To summarize, they live in the tropical moist lowland.

Who do blue cotingas live with?

Blue cotingas (Cotinga nattererii) are usually solitary birds. However small groups of these birds can be seen above the canopy of fruit trees. They also come together during the breeding season.

How long does a blue cotinga live?

It's not known how long blue cotingas live for, but spangled cotingas, similar species from the same genus live for about 10-12 years depending on the predation, diet, and human disturbances around the species. We can assume the same for the blue cotingas.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season of the species occurs around January-April. Due to a lack of research, nothing is known about the courtship behavior of these birds. After copulation, the females lay about two eggs on average. The breeding nest has been seen to be used more than once.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the blue cotingas according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature is listed as Least Concern. The population of the birds is decreasing due to habitat loss.

What do blue cotingas look like?

Blue cotinga (Cotinga nattererii) birds are medium-sized and look a lot like doves. They display strong sexual dimorphism. The male blue cotinga is mostly blue in color. Its chest and throat are shining blue with a purple tinge, while it has a purple patch on the center of its belly. Its tail and wings are black in color with blue edges and it has a black eye-ring. The females on the other hand have a dark brown color on the dorsal side and lighter brown on the ventral side, while both have buff edges. The female blue cotingas have an overall scaly effect.

How cute are they?

This species of cotinga bird can be pretty cute due to its beautiful colors. They are also not known to be aggressive, which certainly adds to their charm.

How do they communicate?

The males of this species of cotinga are not known to make any sounds. However, when they are in flight, a whistling noise can be heard made by their wings. The females have been heard to make loud shrieks.

How big is a blue cotinga?

Blue cotingas grow up to about 7-8 in (18-20 cm) in size. They are slightly smaller than blue jays, which are about 9–12 in (22–30 cm) in size.

How fast can a blue cotinga?

The exact speed at which blue cotingas (Cotinga nattererii) fly is not known. However, they have been seen to fly at a moderate speed. They flutter their wings at a good pace because when in flight, their wings are known to make a whistling noise.

How much does a blue cotinga weigh?

The exact weight of these birds is not known. However, the average weight of blue cotinga, lovely cotinga, and other species of birds belonging to the cotinga family, Cotingidae, is about 2.5 oz (70 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

The males of the species are called cocks, and the females are called hens.

What would you call a baby blue cotinga?

A baby blue cotinga is called a chick or a hatchling.

What do they eat?

These birds are known to be herbivores. They are only known to eat fruits. Small groups of 10 or fewer birds forage for fruits in the trees.

Are they dangerous?

They are not known to be dangerous towards humans or other animals. However, we can assume that like any animals they would also respond aggressively if threatened in any way.

Would they make a good pet?

There have been no records of these birds being kept as pets. In addition, they also like to perch on trees high above the canopy, and they also require certain habitat conditions to survive. If they are taken from that natural habitat, it would only harm them.

Did you know...

The blue cotinga (Cotinga nattererii) nest is mainly built by the female. The nest is built about 92-98 ft (28-30 m) above the ground on a horizontal canopy limb.

The most similar species is the turquoise cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi). The only few differences in assistance between the two are that blue cotingas have darker throat patches, possess a black eye-ring, and have smaller beaks.

Is the blue cotinga endemic?

The blue cotinga is endemic to only a few places, such as the Pacific lowlands to the eastern and central Magdalena valley of Colombia, central Panama, north-west Ecuador, and west Venezuela.

How many eggs do blue cotingas lay?

Blue cotingas lay about two eggs on average.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our monk parakeet facts and hummingbird facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Cotinga coloring pages.