RED-RUFFED FRUITCROW Pyroderus scutatus ATLANTIC FOREST
Holding the honour of being the world´s largest passerine bird, the fruitcrow isn´t actually a crow at all but a member of the diverse and fascinating Cotinga family. It is a lekking species, which means that males gather at a display area, giving deep, throaty calls in an attempt to attract a mate. The female chooses the male that best suits her and they move away to make sweet music. The nest itself is extraordinarily small for the size of the bird and very few have ever been found - in fact the first ever nest was only discovered because the sitting bird darted out to mob a passing raptor that was being watched by a lucky observer!
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE2190PH) Adult, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Alberto Esquivel November 2007).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE2191PH) Same individual dorsal (Alberto Esquivel November 2007).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE2192PH) Adult ventral view, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Bernard Oosterbaan February 2008).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE2193PH) Adult lateral view, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Sylvia Qu June 2008).
FIGURE 5 - (FPAVE2194PH) Adult ventral, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith April 2010).
FIGURE 6 - (FPAVE2195PH) Adult head detail, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Sylvia Qu August 2008).
FIGURE 7 - (FPAVE2196PH) Same individual, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Sylvia Qu August 2008).
FIGURE 8 - (FPAVE2197PH) Foot of same individual, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Leila K August 2008).
FIGURE 9 - (FPAVE2198PH) Recently vacated nest, Hotel Tirol, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith November 2008).
VIDEO - (FPAVE2199VI) Adult, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith April 2010).
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Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Myriam Velázquez, Sylvia Qu, Bernard Oosterbaan and Alberto Esquivel and is used with their permission.
Pyroderus scutatus
1 (FPAVE2200RE) call  recorded Yaguarete Forest, Departamento San Pedro (Myriam Velázquez August 2000).
2 (FPAVE2201RE) call  recorded Muxfeldt, Departamento Alto Paraná (Myriam Velázquez October 2001).
Click the link to hear the call. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website Xeno-Canto - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online.