On a birding trip to Panama, coming home:

As I mentioned yesterday there are no crows in Panama but this bird tries to fill the gap.  He’s black like a crow, he acts like a crow, and he’s named like a crow but he isn’t a crow.  So what is he?

The purple-throated fruitcrow (Querula purpurata) is a member of the Cotinga family but he doesn’t act like one.  Many cotingas are solitary in their habits and secretive when they nest but purple-throated fruitcrows hang out with 3 – 8 members of their family and friends.

And they are loud!
(Xeno-canto: purple-throated fruitcrows, XC347621, by Fernando Igor de Godoy, Brazil)

They build their conspicuous nests in trees and breed cooperatively.  Everyone helps tend the eggs and chicks and all that activity makes the nest more obvious.  Somehow it works.

There are two more oddities associated with his name.  He’s called purple-throated but in bright light the male’s throat looks red.  What does he use his throat for?  Click here to see.

And finally he’s called a “fruit” crow but he eats mostly insects.

Though he’s full of surprises, he’s not a crow.

(top photo by Patty McGann on Flickr, Creative Commons license. closeup by Dick Daniels via Wikimedia Commons. Click on the images to see the originals)

Day 7: Flying home to Pittsburgh