approximately 30 types with 90 types of the scream-birds forms the family of the Kotingas or jewelry-birds.
Shape As common anatomical characteristics, the special construction of the voice-appliance (strong Stimmuskeln), the legs and the feet would be to be named; much more strongly, however, the variety of these birds falls into the eye, of which some belong to the most colorful and most conspicuous birds of its spread-area, while works others very insignificantly. The size of the Kotingas fluctuates between 9 and 45 cm; biggest type is the umbrella-bird (Cephalopterus Ornatus). Some wear showy feather-bonnets ("Hollen"), other shining colored skin-places of the head; also the meaty tassel about the beak around or a befiederter rag at the front-neck, that appears with some types, is quite uncommon for birds.
If one assumes the actual meaning of the name "Cotinga", that means so much in the language of the Amazon-Native Americans like "wash-white", so it actually is entitled only some representatives of the bell-birds. An as a matter of priority white plumage-coloring has only these namely. Other jewelry-birds attract attention exactly through its colorful and shining colors. With the males of these types, one finds red, purple-colored, violet and blue tones, that not, as comes about with the most different colorful-colored birds, through refraction but through a real pigment (Cotingin). Farblich the most strikingly is the pigeon-big rock-cock.
Spread Most of the types of the Kotingas extremely frequently appear in the closed jungle-areas of the southerly Central America and along the Amazon; from here, they stretched northwards until Paraguay, Bolivia and North-Argentina, as far as at the South-border of the USA southwards. The high and middle tree-layers are its life-area, only the small group of the rock-cocks lives on the ground. In the tops, they look for fruits and berries, some types also take insects gladly, however.
Way of life Caused by the habitat of the jewelry-birds, only heavily to reach for the human being, observations of its way of life hardly are available. If went a type vocally is, however, one can out-hear it at least from the density of the jungle. Some types are notably quiet, sonorous and long-range voices have others. Becomes also grunting beside it, rumbling lutes, that sound not at all bird-similar, expressed; very purely and the sounds of the bell-birds are loud.
Types If the sign-bird or Pavao (Pyroderus scutatus, 45 cm of length) are in Balzstimmung, a deep drone sounds; so, it is called also "trompetero."
Because of its crow-similar shape, the representatives of the type Haematoderus are called "fruit-crows." To this, the strawberry-colored, 45 cm long Karminkotinga (Haematoderus militaris) belongs.
The starengroßen actual of Kotingas (type Cotinga) belong at all to the most splendid tropics-birds.
Halsbandkotinga The Halsbandkotinga (Cotinga maculata) from East-Brazil was hunted by the Brazilians not only because of its beautiful plumage but also because of the meat. The 21 cm long bird is colored primarily enough ultramarine-blue; Throat, breast and the upper stomach-part are profoundly purple-violet. A fine blue cross-bond is on the head, also the otherwise black tail and energy-feathers are lined blue. The female is mainly brown and differs strongly from the male with it. Today, the Halsbandkotinga is subject to the protection through the Washingtoner Artenschutzübereinkommen.
Scientific name: