Yellow-billed Cotinga

Carpodectes antoniae

The Yellow-billed Cotinga (Carpodectes antoniae) is an exceptionally striking and critically endangered passerine, famed for the male's dazzling pure white plumage contrasted by a brilliant yellow bill and black primary tips. Measuring approximately 20-22 cm (8-8.5 inches) and weighing 65-75 grams, this bird exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism; females are a far less conspicuous dusky grey on the upperparts, paler grey to whitish below, also sporting a distinctive yellow bill and a faint pale ...

Habitat

This species inhabits lowland humid evergreen forests, primarily in the vicinity of rivers, estuaries, and mangroves. It is found from sea level up to approximately 300 meters elevation.

Diet

The Yellow-billed Cotinga is primarily frugivorous, feeding on a variety of small and medium-sized fruits, supplemented by some insects. It forages by sallying from perches or hovering to pluck fruit.

Behavior

Yellow-billed Cotingas are largely diurnal, often perching conspicuously on exposed branches high in the forest canopy, especially during morning and late afternoon. Foraging involves snatching fruits while hovering or making short sallying flights from a perch, sometimes gleaning insects. Males ...

Range

The Yellow-billed Cotinga boasts an exceptionally restricted and fragmented geographic distribution, being endemic to the humid lowland Pacific slopes of southwestern Costa Rica and adjacent southwestern Panama. In Costa Rica, its primary stronghold is the Osa Peninsula and the Golfo Dulce region...

Conservation Status

Critically Endangered

Fun Facts

- The male Yellow-billed Cotinga is considered one of the purest white birds in the world, a truly dazzling sight. - This species is critically endangered and restricted to a tiny sliver of habitat on the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Panama. - Females look remarkably different from males, spo...

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