Andean Cock-of-the-rock

Male Andean Cock Of The Rock ( Rupicola peruviana )

The Andean Cock Of The Rock ( Rupicola peruviana ), also called rock Andean cock or rooster Red Rock, is a South American bird cry from the family of Cotinga ( Cotingidae ). It is the national bird of Peru.

Features

The Andean Cock birds have a solid figure with strong feet. The male has a size of 35 to 38cm. There are two subspecies: the males of the subspecies peruviana Rupicola aequatorialis is colored deep orange, the female bird orange - brown, males of Rupicola peruviana sanguiolenta are scarlet, the females dark maroon. The wings and tail of the male birds are black and colored the extended wing-coverts light gray. The most striking feature is the curved spring ridge that extends from the back of the head to the beak and almost obscured its beak. The female has a smaller hood.

Occurrence

The bird lives in tropical and subtropical altitudes of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. There he settled wooded ravines and forests with bare rock.

Behavior

The Andean Cock Of The Rock feeds on fruits, insects and small vertebrates.

Reproduction

During the breeding season, up to 50 males meet in a clearing to Gruppenbalz. The male sits on a branch or a rock ledge and advertises with setting up the bonnet and loud calls to females.

The female builds a sheltered cliff or in a cave, a cup-shaped nest of mud and incubated usually two eggs alone.

Subspecies

So far, four subspecies are known:

• Rupicola peruvianus aequatorialis ( Taczanowski, 1889)
• Rupicola peruvianus peruvianus ( Latham, 1790)
• Rupicola peruvianus sanguinolentus ( Gould, 1859)
• Rupicola peruvianus saturatus ( Cabanis & Heine, 1859)

The subspecies sanguinolentus occurs in the western Andes of Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. The subspecies aequatorialis can be found in the Andes of western Venezuela, in the eastern Andes of Colombia and Central and on the eastern slopes of the southern Ecuador to the Amazon of Peru. In Venezuela, it is north west of Barinas and in the state of Táchira. In Peru, it is present also in the north of the San Martín region. In central Peru, San Martín in the south to the south Junín can be seen on the spp. peruvianus meet. Finally, in the southeast and western Bolivia, the ssp. saturatus home. Here we can see them around La Paz and Cochabamba.