Red-ruffed fruitcrow

Pyroderus scutatus

Photo by Mauricio Rueda (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
red-ruffed fruitcrow (en); pavó (pt); coracine ignite (fr); yacú toro (es); rotkehlkotinga (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Cotingidae

Range:
This species is found in two separate populations, one in Venezuela, western Colombia and northern Peru, and another in south-eastern Brazil and Paraguay.

Size:
These birds are 38-50 cm and weigh about 350 g.

Habitat:
The red-ruffed fruitcrow is mostly found in rainforests, but also in dry tropical forests, at altitudes of 600-2.700 m.

Diet:
They feed on fruits and berries, namely Cecropia sp., both picking the fruits from the branches and collecting fallen fruits on the ground.

Breeding:
Red-ruffed fruitcrows breed in March-June. They nest on a large, untidy cup made of twigs, placed on a large branch near the trunk of a tree, 3,5-11 m above the ground. There the female lays a singe egg which she incubates alone for 20-24 days. The chick is fed by both parents and fledges about 35 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range but is described as uncommon and patchily distributed. Populations in some areas are declining due to habitat destruction and the species is also hunted for food, but it is not considered threatened at present.