NOTES ON THE BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY OF THE RED-COTINGAS (COTINGIDae: PHOENICIRCUS)

The two specieso f red-cotingas,P hoenicircus, are little-known birds with a patchy distribution in the rain forests of northern and central South America. We observed the foraging, displays, and vocalizations of the Guianan Red-Cotinga (P. curnifex) in Suriname and of the Black-necked Red-Cotinga (P. nigricollis) in northeastern Peru. Males of both species formed small, low-density leks. Almost all display occurred in the first hour after dawn, after which the birds dispersed and were rarely observed. Direct interactions between displaying males were infrequent, and male-male spacing at the lek appeared to be mediated through calling. Display consisted of repeated calling and horizontal flights between perches 5-15 m up in the understory. Display flights are often accompanied by mechanical whistling sounds. Although we observed female visits to the lek, no copulations or obvious pre-copulatory behaviors were seen. In courtship and vocalizations, as in morphology, red-cotingas exhibit characters of both manakins and cotingas

PEPPER W. TRAIL AND PAUL DONAHUE, Wilson Bull., 103(4), 199 1, pp. 539-551